• Carling Cup

Liverpool skipper Gerrard out to end six years of hurt

Steven Gerrard wants Liverpool to win their first trophy since lifting the FA Cup in 2006 © Getty Images

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Steven Gerrard has told his Liverpool team-mates it is time to end the club's six-year trophy drought when they face Cardiff in the Carling Cup final on Sunday.

Gerrard will lead the Reds out at Wembley for a game that Liverpool are favourites to win against Championship opposition. And, having smashed six past Brighton in the FA Cup at the weekend, they will be expected to bring home a first trophy since 2006 in the capital.

The Merseyside giants have been through a torturous transitional period in recent years, due in part to a serious ownership problem, but Gerrard now wants his team to signal a new era of success with some silverware.

"Six years without a trophy for this football club isn't good enough," Gerrard told the Liverpool Echo. "It's been too long and everyone knows that. It's time we delivered a trophy.

"Everyone knows the club has been through some tough times but we're moving forward now. We're all desperate to bring success back. It's what we're working so hard to achieve."

The Liverpool skipper was a key part of the 2001 squad that won a domestic Treble under Gerard Houllier, using a Carling Cup win over Birmingham as the catalyst for successes in the FA Cup and UEFA Cup. The Reds also qualified for the Champions League that season, and Gerrard insists success breeds confidence within the squad.

"I'm hoping this is just the beginning for us. It would be stupid to win the Carling Cup and then rest on our laurels," the midfielder said. "This is an important cup for us but there are other big prizes we want to strive for.

"I honestly believe winning this cup will be the catalyst for a successful period for the club. It will certainly give us the belief and confidence to deliver more.

"That's what happened back in 2001. We picked up the League Cup and then went on win the treble. It gave us the confidence to go and win more trophies. Momentum builds and it gives everyone a taste of success.

"If we win on Sunday this group of players will experience what it's like to walk around a stadium full of your supporters going wild. That buzz and the tingles that gives you drives you on to want more."

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