Murphy: Players futures are on the line

The England midfielder, who is increasingly being seen as a lone voice of reason and sane thought amidst the excuses and spin that fill the corridors of power at Anfield, believes that many of his fellow players simply must improve their performances or face the reality that their wealthy Anfield careers will be brought to an abrupt and unceremonious end.

Murphy said: "As footballers you have to be realistic . If you're not performing and the team's not succeeding then certain things are going to change. It could be you.

"From my point of view, I don't want to leave here because there's only one place you're going to go when you leave Liverpool and that's down. A lot of the other players feel the same so they're all fighting for their futures."

He added: "The spirit is good. The players' attitude is good and no-one's moping around feeling sorry for themselves. That's not to say we're not disappointed about losing games like the one on Sunday.

"We know we are so much better than that. We know we can do better and we've shown in parts of the season that we can. We know we have to"