Steven Gerrard has called on his Liverpool team-mates to 'take responsibility' for their recent Premier League slump and stage an immediate response in Tuesday's Merseyside derby.
The Carling Cup winners suffered a third consecutive league defeat for the first time since 2003 on Saturday when they were beaten 1-0 at Sunderland, having previously lost to Arsenal and Manchester United.
Liverpool's hopes of clinching a UEFA Champions League spot appear increasingly bleak, with Kenny Dalglish's side currently seventh in the table and 10 points adrift of the fourth-placed Gunners, who take on Newcastle on Monday night.
Captain Gerrard admits there were "no excuses" for his side's display on Wearside and wants to see them bounce back against Everton at Anfield ahead of Sunday's visit of Stoke in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
"The players need to take responsibility for where we are in the league," Gerrard told the Liverpool Echo.
"It's just not good enough for a club like us to be there. We have to find a better level of consistency.
"We need a reaction and there's no better team to produce that against than Everton.
"It's important the players put in a performance and get a result for the fans. Everyone is a bit down after recent results but we want to put a smile back on their faces.
"It's a big week and we want to go into that Cup tie with Stoke on the back of a win."
Liverpool's Carling Cup triumph last month has failed to act as a springboard to further success as the club had hoped.
But Gerrard refuses to rule out a fourth-placed finish, adding: "It's going to be difficult now but we won't give up.
"It's not officially gone and we'll keep going but we've got a mountain to climb.
Focus
"We just have to focus on winning as many as we can between now and the end of the season and see what happens."
Gerrard sat out the defeat by Arsenal with a minor hamstring problem but returned to action as a second-half substitute at the Stadium of Light and will be fit to start Tuesday's derby.
He added: "I came through fine and I'll be ready to go on Tuesday night."
