Kenny Dalglish told about Steven Gerrard

Kenny Dalglish says Steven Gerrard can play on and on for Liverpool

• Manager wants captain to play into late 30s
• Gerrard says he will only ever play for Liverpool


The Liverpool manager, Kenny Dalglish, has said that the club's captain, Steven Gerrard, could continue playing well into his late 30s. The England midfielder, who will be 32 in May, signed an extension to his existing deal on Thursday and has said that he wants to play beyond his current contract.
Gerrard has recently been dogged by a groin problem, which required surgery, and then an ankle infection. Dalglish said: "You have to wait and see how they get through injuries. Ryan Giggs is 38, isn't he? That's seven years down the line – that's a long time to predict – but if he's fit there's no reason why not. I've not got a crystal ball. I'm just delighted he's done what he's done and we have got him here."
Dalglish is widely thought to have been Liverpool's greatest player but he said Gerrard should come into the reckoning.
"I wouldn't disagree, he has certainly made a huge contribution to the club but he wouldn't be far away from being mentioned as the best player," Dalglish said. "It is not just what he does in and around the first team, it is what he stands for the football club as well – which is more important. His standing within the community is fantastic and the way he does other work happily is a great testimony to himself as well."
Gerrard refused to sign a new contract until he had returned to playing and could prove his problems were behind him.
"I was down in the dumps at the time and for them to offer me the contract extension was the boost I needed," he told the Liverpool Echo. "Everyone at the club supported me so well. I agreed the extension a long time ago, I was always going to sign it, but I told them I wanted to wait until I had proved my fitness. I didn't think it was right to sign when I was out injured. I wanted to wait until I was back out there and had shown people that the injuries were all behind me."
Gerrard continued: "I can only see myself playing for Liverpool Football Club now. I'm very flattered that the club have offered me the chance to stay on after my playing days. Hopefully I can stay involved with the club and set the right example for youngsters coming through but that ambassadorial role may have to wait for a while. There's still a great deal I want to achieve as a player."
Gerrard will lead the team out at home to Stoke on Saturday. Asked what he had learned from two matches against Tony Pulis's this season, Dalglish said: "If you don't score any goals, you don't get any points if you lose one at the other end.
"Every team brings a different problem and we have to deal with the problems we anticipate they'll bring. But they've also got to deal with our strengths and we've got a lot of them."
After Gerrard and the Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, confronted each other about a Glen Johnson tackle in midweek, Dalglish said he was looking for consistency from referees.
"The discussion is not about one person's tackle against the other, it is about consistency and interpretation of tackles," he said. "There are always going to be inconsistencies and human error but there are laws within the game which are as clear as mud."