Reds skipper needs one more goal to bring up his century in the Premier League.
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Liverpool head coach Brendan Rodgers has heaped praise on club captain Steven Gerrard after the midfield player’s midweek display for England against Poland, according to reports in the Daily Mirror.
The inspirational captain of both the Merseyside giants and the Three Lions was instrumental in his country’s crucial Fifa World Cup Group H qualifying win over the Poles at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday night that saw Roy Hodgson’s men make it through automatically to next summer’s global show-piece in Brazil.
And now ahead of the Reds’ trip to take on Newcastle United at St James’ Park in the Premier League in front of the live TV cameras on Saturday lunch-time, the Northern Irishman has claimed that the 33-year-old is tecnhically the best player that he has ever worked with in his managerial career to date.
“What gets lost with him sometimes is people talk about what a great leader and captain he is, but forget he’s still a world class player,” Rodgers said of Gerrard, who has the chance in the north east to join former Liverpool front men Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen by scoring 100 Premier League goals for the club.
“I’d say he is probably the best I have ever worked with at a high tempo – and I have worked with top class players at Chelsea and here; some real technically talented ones over the years.
“He’s a remarkable man, a remarkable captain and England should be honoured to have someone like that representing them on and off the field.
“Just look at the other night. It was the 88th minute and people might have been getting a bit nervy, but he still drove the team on, still had the fitness and the quality to get such an important goal, which was brilliant to see.
“He always scores quality goals. The big players score the big goals and make the big contributions in the big games. If that’s what determines a great player then that’s what Steven Gerrard is.
“A lot of the goals you remember Steven scoring are from the big games.
“Early on in his career, he scored some brilliant goals – one against Arsenal when he ran through – but there’s none that stand out because he has always scored quality goals.
“Steven still has a lot to contribute and he will have well over 100 Premier League goals by the time he finishes.”
And the Liverpool boss also claimed that he had absolutely no concerns whatsoever about his skipper’s ability to play two big games in such a short space of time, a feat he accomplished last month with no ill effects.
“I have no worries about him for Newcastle. He played a League Cup game against Notts County, extra time and everything, then went out and was brilliant against Manchester United.
“He put in his highest exertion of the season physically in that one, so I have no doubts about him this weekend.”