Steven Gerrard wishes Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho had joined Liverpool earlier

Steven Gerrard believes Liverpool would have been challenging for a top four spot if Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho had joined earlier in the season.

The Reds are sitting in seventh in the Premier League table, 10 points adrift of Arsenal in fourth, and their push for a Champions League place was hampered by inconsistent form.

But the January arrivals of Coutinho and Sturridge added some attacking impetus to the team and both players have made a big impact at Anfield.

Sturridge has netted nine goals for Liverpool, including two in last weekend's 6-0 thrashing of Newcastle, while Coutinho continues to impress in midfield and Gerrard believes the duo could have dragged the team further up the table.

"I don't really like jumping ahead but for me there's a lot of optimism," said the midfielder.

"When you make signings you need to contribute. If they are attacking players, you need them to score and set up goals and be better than we already have.

"Sturridge and Coutinho are both signings for the starting XI, and they can both be even better next season.

"I'm convinced they will be two big players for us.

"And if you add another striker to that and you have Luis coming back (from a 10-match ban), then that's the firepower we need to be challenging nearer to the top four.

"In fact, if we had got in Sturridge and Coutinho at the start of the season then I think we'd have been right up there among the top four."

Liverpool face Everton in Sunday's Merseyside derby and Brendan Rodgers' side will finish below their near-neighbours if they are defeated at Anfield.

Gerrard admits that Everton have enjoyed a steady season, but insists that Liverpool can still take some positives from their own campaign.

"Yes, Everton have been consistent, but they are still only sixth," he said.

"They have had a good season but maybe their targets were slightly different to others around them in the table.

"For real consistency, the example has to be Manchester United. Not Everton.

"Liverpool, though, is my main concern. Our target at the start of the season was the top four so it's clear our consistency hasn't been good enough.

"I'm not really a stats man, I prefer to look at the bigger picture, but if you look at our amount of goals and clean sheets, it's clear we are moving in the right direction.

"It's not all gloom and doom. We've played some fantastic stuff this season, and besides a handful of games we've always been in with a shout."