John Arne Riise insists Liverpool will not give up on winning
the title - a day after team-mate Jose Reina said the Reds were now
playing for fourth place.
Keeper Reina had said the Reds were realistically looking for a
Champions League spot after the loss at Arsenal.
But defender Riise said: "We never give up. Cowards give up.
"Of course, it will be hard to catch up, but at one point last
season we were many points behind Chelsea, and in May we were only
nine points behind."
Liverpool are ninth in the Premiership and 14 points behind leaders
Manchester United but have negotiated their way into the next round
of the Champions League with two games to spare.
"Fourth place is our target now. We have to fight for that," said
Reina.
"The Championship is probably too far away for us because
mathematically Manchester United and Chelsea are very
superior.
"We have a lot of confidence in Europe and that is a target as
well. We are probably a better team in the Champions League than in
the Premiership."
The 3-0 defeat at Arsenal relegated manager Rafael Benitez's side
to a fifth straight away loss in the top-flight and Liverpool have
only managed one point from a possible 18 on the road.
"I can not understand why we play so bad away from Anfield, I
really can't," said Riise.
606 DEBATE: How high can Liverpool finish?
"Against Arsenal on Sunday, Rafa was calm in the dressing room
after the match. He knew we knew that this was not good
enough."
Riise also shrugged off talk of the row with captain Steven Gerrard
after William Gallas added Arsenal's third when he headed home a
corner unmarked.
He added: "There was some frustration in the heat of the moment,
but some discussion is good. It shows we care.
"It was neither mine nor Steven's fault that Gallas was unmarked.
We saw the episode on TV afterwards, and it was not our
responsibility."