Gerrard: Bench shows our quality
Steven Gerrard believes Liverpool now have a substitutes' bench to rival the best the Barclays Premier League has to offer.
The skipper marked his first start of the season with a goal in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Manchester United - and points to the calibre of player warming up on the touchline as proof that the Reds are now heading in the right direction.
Gerrard said: "You sum a side up by how strong your bench is. If you look at our bench against United, we had Craig Bellamy, Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson - that goes to show how much stronger we've got over the last couple of years.
"It is a really big positive when you know you have got big subs coming on, and we are really happy with how things are going at the moment."
Gerrard is still getting to know some of his teammates following an influx of seven new recruits during the summer transfer window.
He confesses he has been impressed by what he has seen so far and is tipping the new boys to have a big say on the season ahead.
"All those players have made our squad an awful lot stronger," he said. "The mixture of experience and young players is going to take time to settle and produce top form on a consistent basis.
The best of the United action in 15 minutes
"But it is great to have those players in. A few of them have already got on the scoresheet and I think there is going to be big things for all of those players."
Gerrard was more than pleased to notch his first goal of the new campaign against Alex Ferguson's team following a sixth-month absence through injury.
However, he was disappointed that Javier Hernandez's effort denied him a fairytale conclusion to the contest.
"I didn't realise what I had until it was taken away from me for so long," he said.
"I am delighted to be back and to be able to experience the emotion of big games again.
"It has been a frustrating six months watching from the stands and I much prefer to be out there having an impact on the game. It would have been the perfect day if my goal had been the winner."
Meanwhile, boss Kenny Dalglish saluted Gerrard's man of the match display against the Red Devils.
"He is a really integral part of the club and will be for years to come," said Dalglish. "He is etched in the history of the club and will hopefully have a few more chapters to write yet."
