John Aldridge believes Liverpool could have maintained their momentum for the whole season had they not been hampered by injury problems to their key players.
The Merseyside giants, who presently find themselves in the third spot in the Premier League table, started the season strongly before struggling for consistency after the turn of the year.
As many as 14 Liverpool players have been injured at some point in the present campaign as the club slowly fell behind in the title race and are now fighting for a top four finish.
The likes of Sadio Mane, Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho, Jordan Henderson and Danny Ings amongst others have spent or are still spending considerable time on the sidelines.
And Aldridge, who thinks Liverpool would have been closer to leaders Chelsea if injuries had not taken their toll, wants the Reds to have a stronger squad next season.
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“I think we could’ve [continued our momentum for the whole season] if injuries didn’t happen to certain players, key players”, he said on LFC TV.
“If you look at all the teams, they’ve suffered a little bit, but none more so than Liverpool.
“You’re looking at 14 players [injured], if we could’ve kept them on the field, we wouldn’t have been far from Chelsea.
“And that’s something we’ve got to learn from in the summer.
“The managers certainly knows about that.
“The owners will know that we need a much stronger squad and depth.”
Liverpool, who will next face Watford on Monday, have 66 points from 34 games.
