Reds resigned to Gerrard exit

Rick Parry says Liverpool are resigned to losing Steven Gerrard.

Gerrard has said that he wants to leave the club he supported as a boy despite The Reds apparently quenching his thirst for major trophies by winning the UEFA Champions League.

The club captain has intimated that the club's failure to open negotiations on a fresh contract until he returned for pre-season training was the major factor behind his decision to leave.

Gerrard insists he was ready to sign a new deal after lifting the European Cup in Istanbul, but he still refused a new contract when it was offered to him.

A clearly dejected Parry emerged from Anfield on Tuesday saying that they were resigned to their inspirational skipper leaving the club.

"It's disappointing," Parry told Sky Sports News. "Personally it's disappointing because we made it perfectly clear that we did want Steven to stay, there's no question about that.

"Its the ups and downs of football I guess but there it is, we have to move on.

"He's made it clear that he wants to go. We've done our best and I think it looks pretty final."

Gerrard was close to quitting Anfield last summer to join Chelsea, but was persuaded to stay as Liverpool insisted they matched his ambition.

Parry was particularly upset that not even conquering Europe was enough to keep Gerrard at the club - but he insisted Gerrard was not motivated by money.

"I remember sitting with him last summer and understanding his frustrations, and they were deep, because obviously it came close.

"It was all to do with perceived lack of success and we told him to stick with it and lets see what we achieve, and we thought we achieved quite a lot.

"I don't think, to be fair to Stevie, that it's an issue of money, money wasn't a problem. It was about long term commitment and feeling that this was the place he wanted to be and the place he could win trophies and in the final analysis he feels he'll do better elsewhere.

"He wanted success and presumably felt he'd get more success elsewhere so now its our job to prove him wrong."

Gerrard's decision has angered Liverpool fans, especially after his comments directly after the Champions League final.

Parry says the club will be determined to prove him wrong by going on to even greater success.

"People might be thinking Champions League success is a pretty good marker. I think this is a special club with special fans.

"I did say to him, think of Istanbul, think of the fans who have been the 12th man throughout the Champions League campaign.

"The fans will still be here, the fans will still be with us. The club always has to be bigger than the individual so it's now just onwards and upwards.

"Rafa is very calm and very measured in his thinking, so there's time."

Parry says the club have set no deadlines on Gerrard's sale, with Chelsea and Real Madrid the only two clubs likely to be in the running.

"We're calm, we haven't put deadlines on, it wasn't our decision at the end of the day.

"I don't imagine it would be just one club, but it's early days yet."