'He's the best in last 20 years'

First of all Damien, this is a big day for Liverpool FC.... 

Yes, it always is when you secure the services of one of your best players for the long-term. It's a great day for the club, for the fans, for the manager and for everybody because, as I have said in the past, it's a sign we want to keep our best players here. Because he is the captain and because of everything he has done so far, it's an even better feeling.

From your point of view, what are the qualities which make Steven Gerrard such a special footballer?

I think I won't be very creative and probably say what people have said before. I'd rather speak about the individual and the person behind the player. The way he puts the team first and the club first over his interests is absolutely tremendous. He's a fantasy professional and it's just great to have someone like this at the club. He's a leader, he's charismatic, he's a top player and he's a team player. There's not much more you can ask for from an individual.

You have lots of friends and contacts from all over the world. Tell us what the view is of Steven Gerrard from overseas.

Everybody says he's the best player this country has had for the last twenty years. I think that's quite unanimous. I've seen something in the press recently in France where they voted for the top five English players over the last twenty years and they came out with Stevie on top. When you talk to players, whether they are in the Premier League, in other divisions in England or outside of the country, very often they say 'will Steven Gerrard be here?' and 'what's his contract situation because he's so good I want to play next to him?' And I can understand that.

Yourself, Kenny and the staff have guided Steven back to full fitness after his injury problems - you must be delighted with his form at the moment...

Absolutely. Kenny has said it previously but I think our medical staff have done a fantastic job with both injuries. He's been out for a long time and it was incredibly frustrating for him and disappointing for us because we were trying to give him as much support as we could. It was disappointing because he was out and was desperate to come back and play. We just told him to be patient and not to rush and I think he's scored three in the last four now. As soon as he comes on you can see his quality and what he brings to the team.

You mentioned Steven Gerrard the person - how big an influence is he for you off the field?

The help is tremendous. Whenever we want to sign a young player, no matter what their age is, if I ask Stevie to come to the academy to speak to a player, or have a word with someone at Melwood, he is always there to help and try and convince the boy to come to us, to tell the boy about his experiences of being at Liverpool, of coming through the academy and playing for the first team and for this fantastic fan base. It's not only the help he gives on a daily basis to the ones who are here, it's also the help he gives to help us bring talent to the club. Carra is the same, as to be fair are all the others in the first team. Because it's him, and because of what he's done for the club and what he represents in England, when he talks to a young player it makes a difference.

Then you have on the pitch as well. We were talking to Jordan Henderson last summer and he was talking about training for a couple of days with Stevie for England. He said that as soon as he trained the level went up fantastically. It's about technical leadership as well, not only mental.

Hopefully this will be many years in the future, but once his playing days are over Steven will take on an ambassadorial role for the club. What are your views on this news?

The view myself and Ian Ayre took is we want to keep people like Stevie for the reasons I have talked about. As an ambassador he's going to be around and can give advice to young players, he can give advice to players he would have played with. It's just great to know he'll be around for a long time.