Steven Gerrard has delivered a blunt message to the critics who feel he will need to alter his all-action style this season by insisting: I won’t change.
The Liverpool captain, who turned 32 in May, has been bristling at suggestions through the summer that he will have to assume a position similar to the one Manchester United’s Paul Scholes now occupies, given his advancing years.
Gerrard’s rampaging runs and sheer force of nature have been part of Liverpool’s fabric for the past 13 years but some have wondered whether, after injuries interrupted his last two campaigns, he will re-scale those heights.
The man himself, though, has no doubt that he can spearhead Liverpool’s push forward under Brendan Rodgers and, having sparkled for England at Euro 2012, Gerrard will enter the new campaign in peak condition.
“I have spoken to the manager about what role he sees me filling,” said Gerrard. “I still think he sees me as an attacking midfielder. I don’t think anything is going to change this season. I can still play a dynamic, energetic game.
“I’m prepared to adapt. I’ll do whatever the manager wants but I can still play the same way. People want me to say I can’t play the same way any more, that I will have to go deeper and play a slower game. But, believe me, it’s not happening yet.
“I’ll play the Scholes role when I feel it’s time – but it’s not time yet. I’ve got the medical staff collecting figures every day in training. They measure your heart-rate, the amount of running you do and monitor you at high tempo, low tempo.
“They haven’t come to me and said, ‘Listen, I don’t think you can play the way you’ve been for the last 10 years’. They will do one day, they’ll come to me and say I might need to adapt, but it hasn’t come to that yet.’
Such were the frustrations Gerrard endured in 2011 with groin and ankle problems that he was left contemplating whether he would be forced to end his career, but he returned to action at the beginning of 2012 to show glimpses of his best form.
That he played every minute of England’s games at Euro 2012, and has subsequently flourished in training since Rodgers took over, confirms that he will go into tomorrow’s clash at West Bromwich firing on all cylinders.
“I had major surgery on my groin and a big operation on my ankle through bad luck, but that’s gone,” said Gerrard. “My groins now are better than they’ve been for years. My figures in the Euros were as good as any player there, so I don’t need to sit in front of anyone and say I have to play differently.
“On the other side of it, I know I’m not going to be bombing forward every few seconds without a care of what’s happening behind me. I do appreciate I’m no spring chicken, but I don’t think I have to justify myself or say I’m ready to play a different position.’
Gerrard, who was rested for England’s midweek victory over Italy in Switzerland, added: “I have to make sure I will play well. I’ve missed half of the previous two seasons and it’s been frustrating because of the injuries. But I want to take my form from the Euros into the season.” [email protected] – Daily Mail