STEVEN GERRARD believes the 'spark' has returned to his game after admitting he'd not been producing the goods earlier in the season.
The skipper was relieved to claim his first of the campaign in the 3-0 win over Bordeaux, as Liverpool secured their last 16 Champions League place.
And now Gerrard senses a definite shift in momentum as the Reds seek to maintain their winning streak.
"It was a weight off my mind to get the goal," he said.
"I had a few chances before and you could see I was getting too anxious. But I just had a feeling it was going to come last night.
"My form has been a lot better in training and I knew it was just a matter of time before I took it onto the pitch.
"The most important thing for me is always going to be the team, but I know if I'm playing to my best I can have a big influence on our form.
"I've been missing something since the start of the season. I've not had the spark to my game, and I definitelythink coming back from the World Cup has been a factor.
"It's more to do with missing pre-season. You're never as sharp if you don't get the full pre-season training, and it's no coincidence as far as I'm concerned that if you look around Europe a lot of the major players haven't started the season that well."
After the disappointing Premiership defeat to Manchester United on October 22, Gerrard felt it was essential the players responded.
With three wins, and ten goals, he's confident the side is starting to move into a higher gear.
"When we were on the bus home from Old Trafford, we were all down," he said.
"We knew we'd let ourselves and the club down and we got together as a group and said to ourselves there had to be a strong reaction.
"I think in the last few games you've seen that, and now it's important to keep that going."
The smile has now returned to Gerrard's face, and he couldn't resist an extra swipe at the ongoing obsession with how 'happy' he is at Anfield.
"What gets me down is losing games and hearing so much rubbish about me," he said.
"I could go on for several paragraphs about what was written last weekend, but I think in this case I summed it up well enough in one sentence on Monday.
"We're all a bit sick of reading the same things. I'm sick of it, the players are, the fans and the manager is.
"I feel really sorry for the fans that they have to see the focus put on me again in those stories, but what can I do about it?
"I think from the reaction of the supporters last night, it's clear to me they're not taking any notice of that stuff any more and that's exactly how I want it to be."
Comment