Video: Gerrard hopeful of Suarez stay

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard looks ahead to his testimonial match against Olympiacos on Saturday (3rd August) and restates his belief that the sides fortunes in the coming season could hinge on whether Luis Suarez stays with the club.
“I don’t know what’s happening. I think the only person that knows what’s happening is probably Luis (Suarez) himself. I think he’s got a huge decision to make and as his team mate I’ve got to show him respect and give him space to make whatever decision he wants to make. But I think everyone in this room and everyone at the club knows what I want Luis Suarez to do. Everyone knows how highly I rate him and how much I want him to stay. What we can achieve this season basically depends on whether he stays or goes I believe.”

Steven Gerrard (Q: With Liverpool finishing 28 points off the top of the league last season, is the main target for this season to break back into the top four?)
“Yes of course. I mean the last six months of the season, the performances and the form were really positive, but 28 points for this club to fall away from the top is not good enough. Everyone realises that and that’s the target and the challenge for myself and my teammates is to try and close that gap. But it’s tough as well. The standard of teams in the league. Manchester City have gone and spent another hundred million, it looks like Manchester United are on the verge of spending but money again obviously Jose (Mourinho) is back (at Chelsea) as well. So the teams above us are all getting stronger, so it’s important that we don’t fall even further behind and that we make big signings and we still try and stay in there and close that gap.”