Gerrard still Liverpool's main man, says Cleverley

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Gerrard still Liverpool's main man, says Cleverley

Tom Cleverley believes Steven Gerrard remains Liverpool’s biggest threat and has urged his Aston Villateam-mates to nullify the 34-year-old when the two sides meet this weekend.

Gerrard is set to leave the Reds at the end of the season, having agreed a move to LA Galaxy when his contract expires in the summer, but the midfielder remains a key part of Brendan Rodgers’s squad.

The ex-England captain has made 28 appearances in all competitions in 2014-15 thus far and is set to feature against his former Three Lions team-mate this weekend, with Cleverley acutely aware of Gerrard's talents.

"I've been lucky enough to play with him,” he told Villa’s official website.
"In fact, I've been lucky enough to play with the main three midfielders that everyone talks about - Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. It's hard to split them.

"But Steven is a fantastic footballer and a terrific captain. He's got every aspect to his game that you need to be a top midfielder. He's good at it all and you can't take anything away from him.
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"He's been a great player and let's not underestimate him now. He's still one of Liverpool's best players so it's our job to stop him on Saturday.
"All credit to him, he's had a great career. But he's still a match winner for them. He's still their go-to guy. He can score from anywhere - free kicks, penalties - and he'll definitely be a threat on Saturday."
Villa’s preparations for this weekend’s clash have been overshadowed by talk of a fan boycott of the opening eight minutes – a protest at owner Randy Lerner – while the club have scored just 11 goals in 21 games in 2014-15.
Cleverley insists Villa’s squad have been happy with their recent performances, but wants to see a cutting edge return in time for the visit of Liverpool.
"We all know we can improve in the final third,” he added. "We'd prefer to be scoring goals and entertaining the fans that way but I think performance-wise and being in actual control of games, it's been good.
"I know possession doesn't win you games but you'd rather have the ball than not. In that aspect of the game, we're happy with how we're playing.
"We've just got to improve in the final third and I think our performances will be more complete.
"Liverpool have got great players, a really good manager and threats all over the pitch but we've got to put our own mark on the game on Saturday."