Raheem aware of debt to Rodgers
When Raheem Sterling is asked about the influence of Brendan Rodgers on his career, the weight of respect the young winger has for his manager is abundantly clear.
Rightly so, too; the 19-year-old's rapid development coincided with the arrival of the Northern Irishman as manager in the summer of 2012 and has continued ever since.
Indeed, such has been the level of the Englishman's performances during the past four months, Rodgers was moved to describe the No.31 as the finest in his position in the country.
Sterling is now a crucial cog in a team which is riding high in the Barclays Premier League and has a significant chance of travelling to the World Cup with the Three Lions this summer.
"It has been a breath of fresh air," he told the BBC's Football Focus programme.
On Rodgers specifically, the forward continued: "He has helped me a lot; not just with my football, but if I need someone to talk to off the field, he is there for me.
"He has helped me massively, especially on the pitch. I've really got to give credit to him and thank him a lot."
Sterling was involved as a second-half substitute as Liverpool narrowly defeated Sunderland 2-1 in the Premier League on Wednesday to close the gap to the summit to a single point.
The Reds are firmly in contention with just seven fixtures remaining in 2013-14 and the youngster admitted there is a sense of belief currently emanating around the group.
"There's really good belief around the squad now, there's togetherness in the squad," he added.
"We're all working for each other, we all know what the dream is. Hopefully we'll go from here and just keep climbing the table."