LA Galaxy midfielder and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard says next season could be his final one as a player as he acknowledged that Major League Soccer presented challenges he "wasn't aware of."
Gerrard's MLS contract is set to expire after 2016, and the 35-year-old said he's hoping for better results in his second season after LA's season ended after a single playoff defeat at Seattle last week.
The loss again delayed Gerrard's quest to secure a domestic league title, a feat he never accomplished during his time at Liverpool.
"It could be my last season as a footballer," Gerrard told the Galaxy's website. "I certainly don't want to feel like I'm feeling right now come next year.
"I'd love to go out on a high. It's a long season and I only came here for the last four months, but I'll certainly be better for the experience next year."
Despite featuring a squad with Gerrard and other notable stars including Robbie Keane and Giovani Dos Santos, the Galaxy missed a chance to secure a first-round bye in the playoffs with a loss on the final day of the season.
Instead, they finished fifth in the Western Conference and were forced to play away from home on Seattle' FieldTurf surface.
Reflecting on his first season in the United States, Gerrard admitted dealing with different pitch surfaces was just one of many challenges that he didn't expect.
"Going on the road, playing on turf, playing at altitude, playing in humidity, those are the hurdles that I've had to face over the last three months that I wasn't aware of. Every away game has a different challenge," Gerrard said.
The Galaxy had the third-worst away record in the league, winning just two of their 17 games outside of LA in the regular season, and Gerrard said the team must work to change that.
"At home, we've got no problems because we're very strong and we play well. We'll always win more than we lose," he said. "For us to move forward next year and finish in the top two spots -- and avoid games like [Seattle] -- we've got to be better defensively and stop conceding on set pieces and crosses."
Another part the Galaxy must improve upon is their defending, Gerrard said. The Sounders ended the Galaxy's season with a 3-2 win, capitalising on three LA defensive miscues to score all their goals, including one where Gerrard stopped tracking his man as he expected goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts to come off his line to claim a ball into the box.
"I know [Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena] quite well now ... and I'm sure that's where he'll be analyzing over the winter. [We have] to stop this team from conceding goals, we know that," he said.
"I've been in this game long enough to know that if you're going to be successful that you can't keep conceding goals. It's too difficult to win football matches if you concede two or three every game. We know that's where he'll be analyzing over the winter."
Still, Gerrard remained confident that the Galaxy would put on a better showing next year, when he could have his final chance at winning that elusive domestic league title.
"Knowing this club and looking at it from the outside, I know that we'll try to improve in certain areas," Gerrard said. "We'll improve the squad, and we'll hopefully have a [team] that's ready to compete again next year."