'Stevie's always calm before these games'

The Reds' skipper is preparing to lock horns with Manchester United for the 33rd time in his career - a feat that would take him level with Jamie Carragher in the appearance stakes for this particular fixture.

Gerrard has experienced the spine-tingling highs and the gut-wrenching lows that accompany the games between English football's two most decorated clubs.

And Pascoe explained how the 33-year-old puts that knowledge to good use around Melwood in the build-up to the matches, by imparting wisdom and reassuring teammates.

Below is a full transcript of our recent interview with Pascoe, as he looks forward to what should be an enthralling afternoon of football in the Barclays Premier League...

Colin, you've been in the dug-out for four clashes with Manchester United now. If you had to sum up the atmosphere at these games to someone who's never experienced it, what would you tell them?

It's a fantastic atmosphere. There's intensity and passion. We know that we'll have a lot of support at Old Trafford and the supporters will be very vocal. It's going to be a great game and we're all looking forward to it.

How is the manager in the build-up to these games? Does his character change? Are there any nerves?

The manager is just the same. He's always very calm before every game and he'll be exactly the same this week. I'm excited myself. I'm really looking forward to it. So are all the payers. They've trained very well throughout the week and they're all really excited.

Old Trafford is about as intimidating a place for any Liverpool player to go and play. What's your message to the youngsters in our side as they prepare to walk out into such an atmosphere?

Go and enjoy it. If you go out there and enjoy the game, it normally means that you have played well. A lot of the youngsters in the team have played for their countries. They have played a lot of games this season and they got plenty of experience last season as well. So I'm sure they'll just take it on board and enjoy it.

Steven Gerrard was in the team when we last won at Old Trafford. He knows more than any about the intense rivalry - how does Steven conduct himself in the build-up to these clashes?

He's very calm. He always says himself that every game he plays for Liverpool, he looks forward to. He enjoys all the games, but more so against Manchester United. Steven loves the big matches and he has played in so many for Liverpool. He'll be ready for Sunday. He brings calmness around the changing room and on the training pitch. He's always giving information, always encouraging the youngsters. All that information he gives them is invaluable.  

Both matches against United this campaign have been settled by one-goal margins. Can you see another close-fought encounter on Sunday?

It's Manchester united against Liverpool and it's always going to be tough. I can see it being close. It's also going to be intense. But with the firepower that we have, in Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson, we're always going to be able to score goals. So hopefully we can score a few and then keep a clean-sheet at the other end.

To what extent can Liverpool fans expect to see that sort of intense approach-play which was evident during the wins over Arsenal, Everton and Tottenham?

That's the way we play. We know that we can score goals. So the intensity that we put in is there to stop the opposition from playing. When we played Southampton at St Mary's you saw how we pressed them there. We worked hard throughout the 90 minutes and we denied them a lot of opportunities. That was a great result for us. It was great to keep a clean-sheet and to score three on the road was fantastic.

It's been more than two weeks since our last fixture. Has that been an advantage for us? How has this extra time been used to prepare the players?

I hope so! A lot of our players were away in the three or four days after the Southampton game on international duty. They played in the games as well and they got the minutes. Then they had a couple of days with their families to relax and they've come back now and trained well over the last week.

Lucas and Sakho return to the set-up and will be available for selection. We're nearing a full squad heading into the run-in. How vital is that?

It's very vital. Throughout the whole season you want to have your full squad available, but that's just not going to happen in football. It's great that Lucas and Sakho both played in the reserves against West Ham and got some playing time in the win there. They'll be ready now for the run in.

If Liverpool can get a result at Old Trafford on Sunday - what would that say to our rivals near the top of the table, with nine games remaining?

It sends out a great message. People were saying before the match against Southampton that if we could get a result, that would send out a statement. We went down there and got a great result at St Mary's. So if we can get a result at Old Trafford, that will just send another message out.