Rush: You want to play for those fans
Ian Rush admitted he could not resist an opportunity to get back onto the football pitch when his team of Liverpool legends impressed in a 3-1 victory in Singapore on Saturday.
The Reds' all-time record goalscorer was the player-manager for a group of former stars and fan favourites at the Jalan Besar Stadium as they competed against a local select XI.
Fine efforts by Emile Heskey and Jari Litmanen sandwiched an own goal by the home side to provide a comfortable cushion for the travellers and ultimately the win.
Rush was suitably satisfied from the bench to introduce himself for the closing stages of a much-anticipated and entertaining encounter - a tactical switch he felt he had to make.
The Welshman told Liverpoolfc.com post-match: "I thought we did very well, in the first half we played really well and it was very comfortable. In the second half, they came back into it.
"But the game was all about entertaining; when you see all the fantastic Liverpool supporters in Singapore, it makes you want to get out on the pitch and play for them."
Not that a positive scoreline in Masters football was enough to persuade Rush of a full-time career in management. "I'll stick to the legends, 100 per cent," he insisted.
Having plundered 346 goals for Liverpool, the 53-year-old knows a sublime finish when he sees one, and Litmanen's precise lob from 20 yards definitely warranted such a description.
"It was absolute quality," added Rush of the Finn's eye-catching contribution. "He had it when he played for Liverpool and it was probably the moment of the game."