Gerrard shoulders blame for draw disappointment

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has accepted the blame for last night's disappointing 1-1 draw at Wigan but insists extending their unbeaten run is a positive.

Having taken an early lead through Fernando Torres the Reds, after their exertions in the victory against Chelsea on Sunday, tired badly and Hugo Rodallega equalised just after half-time, with the Latics looking the more likely to score.

Gerrard gave the ball away in the passage of play moments prior to the Colombian's goal but had chance to make amends late on only to see his shot beat Ali Al Habsi but crash down off the crossbar.

"I tried to play a one-two that, if it had come off, could have been a good move," said the England midfielder in relation to his mis-placed pass.

"You don't expect it to lead to a goal but, when it does, you have to take responsibility.

"Then when I went through on goal, I maybe struck my shot too well but I should have scored - I expected to.

"As we haven't taken maximum points, maybe people should point a finger at me.

"Maybe our performance suffered after the energy and intensity we put into beating Chelsea.

"You can often find that happening after you play a game 72 hours after a big fixture."

However, the 30-year-old remains upbeat as he turns his attentions to another tough encounter against Stoke on Saturday.

"After a fantastic win over Chelsea and having gone 1-0 up, of course we understand why people will be slightly disappointed," he told the Liverpool Echo.

"But we have kept our unbeaten run going, Fernando has got another goal and there are other positives. I'm happy with my form.

"It's going to be tough at Stoke but we will have to stand up and fight, stick together and if we get a win, that would be a superb result. We will be ready for it."