LONDON — Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has pledged to get his side back to winning ways when the Merseysiders travel to Stoke on Saturday.
The midfield maestro, who hit the crossbar late on in a 1-1 draw with Wigan on Wednesday night, shouldered some of the responsibility for his side's failing to notch their fifth win on the trot.
As well as missing Liverpool's best chance to keep their hot streak going, a misplaced pass from the 30-year-old led to Wigan's equalizer.
"I tried to play a one-two that, if it had come off, could have been a good move," said Gerrard. "You don't expect it to lead to a goal but, when it does, you have to take responsibility. 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.
"Besides those things, I'm happy with my form," Gerrard added. "After a fantastic win over Chelsea and having gone 1-0 up, of course we understand why people will be slightly disappointed."
The skipper, who has drawn criticism for his performances in the Liverpool shirt this season, skillfully set up Fernando Torres for the opener.
With so many first-teamers missing, manager Roy Hodgson will be pinning his hopes on the prolific pair more than ever as they go into a tough match at the Britannia Stadium.
"It was nothing like the performances we've shown in recent weeks and that might be because this was a game too far," Hodgson said. "Our recent games have put a lot of demands on a fairly small squad with quite a few senior players injured."
Daniel Agger, Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Glen Johnson are all set to miss the game for the Merseysiders, who are ninth in the Premier League table after an indifferent start to the season.
Opponents Stoke, meanwhile, are fighting for their lives in 16th, just above the dreaded drop zone.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis will be boosted by Tuesday's 3-2 defeat of Birmingham, a result which ended a five-game losing streak for the Potters.
Dean Whitehead scored a late winner after first-half strikes from Robert Huth and Ricardo Fuller.
Pulis said: "The last five games, four have been away from home and the other was Manchester United.
"It's been a real tough run, but you want to get out of a rut and we've done that."
He will be thanking his lucky stars that he is able to welcome back Ryan Shawcross into the side after suspension, as his troops will need to be at their absolute best to stifle Torres et al.
Meanwhile Pulis is hopeful of securing the permanent signing of former Liverpool and Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant.
The Real Zaragoza midfielder is on loan at the club until January 2011 and has made seven appearances since signing in August.
Pulis said: "He's a good lad, he's been very good for us but whether we can do a deal or not remains to be seen."
