Rallying Call: Liverpool Answers Steven Gerrard's Frustration

Watching carefully in the stands at Anfield, England manager Fabio Capello came away impressed Saturday afternoon as he witnessed Liverpool's 3-0 dismantling of an ordinary Newcastle side.

In particular, the surging runs from Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard must have caught Capello's eye immediately after yet another sensational performance.

As Steven Gerrard slowly trotted towards long-time friend and teammate Jamie Carragher in the 68th minute to hand him the captain's armband, one could see the glimmering smile plastered on the face of the Liverpool skipper.

With three recent dominating victories in the English Premier League, his team had answered his rallying call.

Thanks in part to some wonderful attacking movements from the Reds of Merseyside, Rafa Benitez's men now find themselves three points up on their Merseyside rivals of Everton for fourth spot in England's top flight.

Earlier in the week, Stevie G proclaimed that his side had far greater ambitions than just landing in fourth place in the Premier League.

"Looking at the league table hurts. This time last year we were third and Arsenal were fourth, and that is the way the season ended. It hurts to see where Arsenal are now," said Gerrard when asked by journalists from the Liverpool Echo.

“In the position we find ourselves now, fourth place is the least that is acceptable. We need to improve dramatically and, even if we do finish fourth, it doesn’t mean we’ve had a good season."

"We have bigger ambitions than that. The only way we can fulfil those ambitions is in the Champions League and I am not going to pretend that even winning that trophy—and we are a long way away from it at the moment—will make up for the disappointment of the league campaign."

While others may still question Liverpool's ability to overcome the challenges that currently face his side, Gerrard remained adamant that his side had the capability of being "a hell of a lot more competitive than [Liverpool] are".

“I’m gutted every time I look at the table and see the gap between us and Arsenal at the top and even the gap between us and second and third. We believed we had the players to challenge for the title and we wanted that one more than any other trophy available to us."

"I still believe we have the squad to be a hell of a lot more competitive than we are."

After challenging his fellow teammates to prove their quality, Gerrard himself has not disappointed.

Linking up wonderfully with record signing Fernando Torres, the Reds are beginning to show the swagger and confidence that most experts were expecting this season.

Heading into a crucial showdown at the San Siro Tuesday night against Inter Milan, Liverpool are beginning to look reminiscent of the side that came away with the Champions League title in 2005.

Coming into the 2007/2008 Premier League season, the Liverpool faithful had different ambitions in mind following a massive spending spree from manager Rafa Benitiez.

Along with El Nino, the signings of Ryan Babel, Andriy Voronin, Lucas, Yossi Benayoun, and Alvaro Arbeloa were supposed to give Liverpool the jolt that the needed to rise to the top of the table.

However, with board takeover rumors and the unsettled uncertainty over the future of Rafa Benitez at the club earlier in the year, Liverpool supporters found their club struggling to keep pace with their cross-town rivals in Everton.

The emerging threats of other clubs such as Aston Villa, Manchester City, and even Portsmouth were unsettling for most fans at the Kop.

Long-time Liverpool players in Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Steve Finnan, and Sami Hyppia were supposed to hoist the Premier League title in pride and joy.

This was supposed to be the year where Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United were pushed aside as England's top team.

This was supposed to be the year that Liverpool came away as champions of England.

Nevertheless, Liverpool now find themselves in a battle to stave off the threats of Everton and Aston Villa for their spot in the Champions League.

With the overwhelming quality and money invested into the club, the Reds are still the favorites to come out on top with the lucrative fourth spot—in spite of what some pundits are claiming nowadays.