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Cape Town - Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool must immediately stop playing Steven Gerrard in his new defensive midfielder role.
Read: Rodgers job on the line
The 34-year-old midfielder has been deployed in a much more defensive role this season by manager Brendan Rodgers but former Liverpool defender, Jamie Carragher, disagrees with Rodgers on how best to utilise the ex-England captain.
"He’s not a Mascherano, he’s not a Hamann who played in front of me who were not really interested in getting on the ball, that was Stevie’s job or Xavi Alonso’s job,” said Carragher, speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football programme.
“All they (Mascherano and Hamann) thought about was defensively.”
“Over the years he’s had fantastic relationships with Owen, Torres, Suarez and Sturridge. He knows where they are, where the ball is going.
“He hasn’t got that at the moment with any of the strikers, Balotelli, Lambert, Borini.
“He’s not giving that creativity going forward because of that lack of understanding, he’s getting man-marked. I think they’d be better off putting someone else there, like a Lucas who is only going to think defensively.
“This team needs protection. Stevie’s not a great protector of the defence. He’s in that position for different reasons really.
“He’s not a Mascherano, he’s not going to give you much going forward (as it is), put a defensive player there, someone who will support the back four, keep a clean sheets.
“And maybe put Stevie further forward. There’s a lack of creativity in the team, Coutinho, Sterling, it’s not there.”
