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."
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