'Welcome to 600 club, Stevie'
Ian Rush has paid a special tribute to Steven Gerrard as the Liverpool captain prepares to make his 600th appearance in a red shirt against Newcastle United on Sunday - and insists he still has much more to offer the club over the coming years.
Anfield's all-time record goalscorer, who himself tallied a total of 660 appearances for the Reds, believes the skipper firmly remains one of the finest footballers on the planet.
"It is a fantastic achievement," said Rush. "It shows that he has real loyalty to this club but to have made 600 appearances is a big achievement in itself.
"Sunday will be great for him and something he should be really proud of.
"People seem to talk about the injuries Steven has suffered throughout his career but he can't have been on the sidelines that long if he is on the verge of making his 600th appearance. He keeps himself really fit and really looks after himself.
"As you get older, this becomes even more important and Steven continues to do that.
"He still wants to play and he still wants to play for his country as well, which is important.
"Time will tell how many more years he can continue to play but hopefully there is plenty left in him.
"He can still make a difference to this team.
"It angers me sometimes when Steven maybe has a bad game by his standards and people have a go.
"Even the best have bad games and how quickly people forget that Steven has won countless games for Liverpool by himself.
"Everyone remembers Steven's performance in Istanbul but you could pick any number of games when he has taken the game by the scruff of the neck, as a favourite of all his games.
"You could pick any number of the games against Manchester United because he always stands up to be counted in those matches."
Meanwhile, Rush insists Liverpool can bounce back to winning ways on Sunday - but has sounded a word of warning to the defence to keep the Newcastle front line under wraps.
He said: "Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba are quality.
"Those two were a major reason why Newcastle did so well last season and they are scoring this season.
"Liverpool can't allow Newcastle to play because they will score if that happens."