Mascherano sorry for poor season

JAVIER MASCHERANO has apologised to Liverpool fans for their poor Premier League performances this season and admitted that negotiations over his possible move to Barcelona left him frustrated and unable to focus on his own game.

The midfielder, who is set to captain Argentina at the World Cup, also admitted that his family have found it hard to settle in Liverpool and that he barely left his house during winter.

“The situation with Barcelona really affected me,” said Mascherano, who was close to a move to Spain last August. “There were lots of discussions during that period and it was a difficult time for me. One day I was off to Barcelona, the next I wasn’t.

“Psychologically, that affected me, as I couldn’t think about Liverpool and I was focused on other things and not on my game.”

The fact that Argentina came very close to missing out on World Cup qualification also affected the former West Ham star.

“There was a lot of complicated stuff going on then,” he told Argentine magazine Brando, in an interview which comes out this weekend.

“I have no problem living in Liverpool, but it’s hard because my wife doesn’t speak any English, so she is dependent on me. But I did want to live in Barcelona.”

Dirk Kuyt, meanwhile, admits it is crucial Liverpool get themselves back in the Champions League next season.

Their seventh-placed Barclays Premier League finish in the season just completed was the Reds’ worst for 11 years, and their failure to progress from the group stages of the Champions League means Anfield will have a long wait before again playing host to Europe’s elite club competition.

While that could damage the club’s efforts to attract top-quality players, Kuyt feels the Merseysiders are still an attractive proposition – providing they make a swift return to the Premier League’s top four next season.

“Liverpool is a massive club. It’s very disappointing that we don’t have the Champions League because, up until last season, we had done so well in the competition,” said the Holland international.

“But this is what has happened. We have just got to make sure that we will be right back in it next year.

“Players who want to play in the Champions League would like Liverpool.

“We just have to make sure that we will back in it within one year.”

Kuyt is hopeful manager Rafael Benitez will be able to bring in the necessary additions – while also hanging on to Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.

“If we can buy a few more players, I think we will be really close to winning trophies again,” the 29-year-old Dutchman said.