JAMIE CARRAGHER requires no indulgence. He knows time is drawing in and every error made in the Liverpool defence will be submitted in evidence against him.

“I am 32 in January,” he said recently. “It will happen one day.” But not yet, believes Rafael Benitez. The inevitable, insisted the Spaniard yesterday, remains several years away.

The Liverpool stalwart, like Sami Hyypia and so many other illustrious predecessors, is under scrutiny for a sluggish start to the season that reached a nadir at Upton Park last Saturday.

Easily beaten for pace by West Ham’s 20-year-old winger Zavon Hines, Carragher responded by conceding a 29th-minute penalty and fuelling a debate over the mileage left in his legs.

The discussion was not confined to the Liverpool support in east London either, with Carragher and Benitez meeting this week to review the 31-year-old’s displays and personal data. Benitez’ conclusion? One player is not responsible for Liverpool’s susceptibility and the man from Bootle is vastly improved on the defender he inherited at Anfield five years ago.

“You are a better defender at 31 than at 26,” Benitez explained. “When you have five more years’ experience you know the other players better, your movements and your position better. If you are physically fit like Carra then you can become a better defender. I knew Carra before I joined the club because we played against Liverpool with Valencia and I think he is a much better player now because his understanding of the game is much better.

“He can analyse the other players. He knows his best position. He can make mistakes like everyone else but he is also a talker, giving advice to the others, which is important. I am not worried if he made an individual mistake. The team has to protect the defenders better and find more balance. That is the key.”

The positive appraisal does not mask Benitez’ concern at Liverpool’s defending, however, and the in-depth analysis undertaken at Melwood this week addressed the issues that Carragher’s performance at West Ham raised.

“He is not more susceptible to pace now. I can guarantee you,” insisted the Liverpool manager.

“I was checking the data and he is quicker now than he was in August when we were doing the fitness tests. He is a player who is fit, trains really well, has no injuries and takes care of himself. He is in good condition and has a lot of years left to play.

“I have been talking to him about his physical condition . . . . His fitness tests are better than the beginning of the season so there is no problem. Clearly, he made a mistake but it’s the team that has to improve defensively. I am not worried about him. We are scoring more goals and conceding more goals so we must find the balance that we have had before.

“You cannot really improve your pace,” he said. “If you are slow, you are slow, but Carra is quicker now because his game intelligence is better.”  - Guardian Service