Rodgers' planning helps Gerrard

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believe careful attention to detail has allowed Steven Gerrard to play to his maximum this season.

Last Updated: 14/03/13 at 16:51 Post Comment    Bet with SkyBet  Premier League. Click here to bet.

Steven Gerrard: Played every minute in the PL for Liverpool

Steven Gerrard: Played every minute in the PL for Liverpool

The midfielder, who will captain England in World Cup qualifying matches against San Marino and Montenegro later this month, has played every minute of every Premier League match for his club this season.

Gerrard, who turns 33 in May, is the only Premier League outfield player to do so and is currently enjoying his best form for some time having seen last season disrupted by an ankle problem.

Only 40 players have achieved the feat in the league's 21-year history.

Rodgers believes the inspirational Reds captain is benefiting from the work put in by a backroom staff and medical department which was overhauled when he arrived in the summer.

"Players like Steven Gerrard have played the most amount of games they ever have consecutively," he said.

"His performance level, alongside a lot of the others, has been outstanding this year and that gives me great hope.

"We looked at every player. First and foremost it was about getting the commitment, it wasn't about motivation from the players.

"What we promised them was, once they were committed to what we were trying to do, there would be a plan put in place for the individual in order for him to play at their maximum.

"Steven has benefited from that. We revamped our medical and sports science team here and a lot of the work goes on behind the scenes.

"Our head of performance Glen Driscoll is in tune with how I work on the field, which allows him to develop the plan along with our sports science and medical team off the field.

"It is just a case of not throwing the blanket around every single one and seeing them as the same.

"They are very much a team but you have to look at the individual.

"For Steven it is about the right moments of recovery and rest, monitoring the intensity of his training and when he needs an extra recovery day.

"But the biggest thing is him. He wants to do it, he wants to learn, improve and be better and he has the trust in how we work and that is critical."

While Gerrard may be in the rudest of health there remain concerns over goalkeeper Jose Reina, who missed Sunday's win over Tottenham with a calf problem.

"He hasn't trained so much this week, but he's coming along better and had a real good response today to some of the work," Rodgers added.

"We'll find out by tomorrow for definite if he's going to be fit (to face Southampton on Saturday)."

Midfielder Joe Allen requires an operation to cure a long-term shoulder injury but the Liverpool manager said the club would not stop the player joining Wales for their internationals this month.

"It is something he has been playing through," said the Reds boss. "He has an operation he will probably need but he has been fine with it for a few years.

"Since October he has really felt it and it is something that, at the right time in the next couple of months, we'll look to get organised.

"But at this moment he is involved with the group and will be involved with the Wales squad and we'll look at it after that."

Rodgers also dismissed suggestions some of the younger players who supplemented his squad earlier in the season would be allowed to go out on loan.

Raheem Sterling, Suso, Jonjo Shelvey and Andre Wisdom all played for the under-21s this week having seen their playing time with the senior side reduced in recent weeks and there was speculation the former two may get a chance to play elsewhere to get their pitch-time up.

"None of them are available for loan. That is something which won't happen," said Rodgers.

"They (Sterling and Suso) are both young players who have played a lot this year and they have been very much part of our group.

"Raheem has been outstanding this year but he is only young so we need to nurture and protect him.

"On top of that, we have a very small squad and those two boys are real integral parts of the group at this moment in time."

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