EXCLUSIVE

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes Dejan Lovren is running out of time to prove he can develop into a top defender for the Reds after saying the Croatian centre-back has to start taking his chances at the club.

Lovren has endured a tricky time at Anfield since sealing a £20million move from Southampton to Liverpool last summer, and recently labelled his debut season at the club as "tough" following several under-par performances.

The 26-year-old did look to have turned a corner when he put in some solid displays at the beginning of the 2015/16 campaign before making a costly error in Liverpool's 3-0 home defeat to West Ham.

After subsequently losing his place in the first-team to Mamadou Sakho, Lovren is now set to be given an extended run in the Reds side because of the Frenchman's injury, and Carragher has admitted the Croatian must make the most of this opportunity.

"It's time we saw the Lovren from Southampton and he's never fully convinced when he's had that chance," Carragher told Standard Sport.

"The manager started him early on in the season and I thought he was outstanding against Arsenal and then you thought 'Is this the start of the Lovren being what he should be: a commanding centre-back for Liverpool?'

"But then in the following game, we played at home to West Ham and lost 3-0 and he was culpable for a goal. That can happen at times, but on the back of playing so well, to then go back to square one with that performance, put him in a bad light in the supporters' eyes.

"It will be another chance for him but sooner or later, he needs to take them."

Sakho is expected to be out of action for between six to eight weeks after sustaining knee ligament damage during Liverpool's loss to Crystal Palace before the international break.

The injury will come as a blow for Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, who had started the France international in every game since his arrival at the club in early October.

And Carragher believes Liverpool are likely to miss Sakho during his time out injured because the defender has been one of the team's best players this term.

When asked how much Liverpool will miss Sakho in the coming weeks, Carragher said: "He will be a big loss. He's been one of the best performers this season.

"Whether he [Klopp] thinks he needs to bring a centre-back in because there aren't too many options in that position. Maybe that will be a position he looks at in January.

"But Sakho will be a big blow for the manager because there haven't been too many players who have been playing out of their skin but Sakho has certainly been one of the better ones."

Carragher has been highly praised for his work as a football pundit since retiring from the game in 2013, as has ex-Manchester United star Gary Neville, and the former Reds defender has now revealed he began developing his analysing abilities while watching Match of the Day as a child.

"I remember growing up watching Alan Hansen on Match of the Day and Andy Gray on Sky and saw what they say and how they do things," he said.

"It [football] is a matter of opinions. It doesn't mean we're always right and that's what makes the game so great. If people like Monday Night Football or watching us, then we're doing something right."

Carragher has been nominated, alongside Alan Shearer and Southend United's Dan Bentley, for the Player Impact gong at the 2015 Football for Good awards for his work in providing opportunities for disadvantaged young people in Merseyside.

The winner of the award will be announced at a gala event in London in December, which has been organised to mark the 10th anniversary of the programme Coaching for Hope, and Carragher admitted he was happy to have been shortlisted for it.

"I was pleased because it's nice to be recognised but I think in terms of being a charity, it's not something you do for recognition - I know I don't," he said.

"If there is an award, it's always nice to win but whoever wins it, I don't think it makes a massive difference. Whoever wins it will still continue to do big work, whoever it is."

For more information on the Coaching for Hope programme, and for tickets to the 2015 Football for Good awards, visit coachingforhope.org/football-for-good-awards-2015/