Steven Gerrard Time’s running out for my title dream

The Liverpool captain accepts that his distinguished career is likely to end without winning the Premier League title.

Liverpool have made a good start to the season and their victory over Manchester United two weeks ago suggests the gap between his side and the top four is closing.

Gerrard confesses, however, that it probably won’t close quickly enough for him to be able to claim his first championship medal before he retires.

“I’m 33, I’ve got two years left on my contract and, realistically, I’m quite a distance away from winning the league at the moment,” he admits.

“I have to take that on the chin but I’ll never give up fighting for it. Physically, I feel as good as I’ve felt and maybe I can play on beyond two years. I haven’t made that decision yet.

“For me, it would be a dream to lead this team out again in the Champions League at Anfield.

“I’ve had some of the best nights of my career in front of our crowd in that competition. That’s a more realistic ambition.”

Gerrard almost moved to Chelsea in 2005 and turned down the chance to end his career with Bayern Munich only last year.

“I could have moved,” he says. “I could have earned more money. But this is where I will live for the rest of my life so these are the people who are important to me.

“When it came down to my crunch decision, it was all about: ‘Do you want to go and win more trophies with Chelsea or another club or do you want to win less but perhaps what you do win will mean more?’

“I’m absolutely delighted that I made the decision to stay and I’ve no regrets.”

The England skipper may have made no decisions about life after he hangs up his boots, but he admits there is one job that would be difficult to turn down.

“The dream come true would be to manage Liverpool,” he says.

“I am planning on doing my badges and qualifications over the next 12 months.

“I want to stay in the game. If I’m good enough, if Liverpool came, I’d love to do that. It would be a dream to get that opportunity.

“I’ve been studying all the managers since I was young, the sessions they do and the tactics, making notes on things, because I love the game.

“I want to play on for as long as I can, but I want to contribute and still have a say on the pitch.

“I’ve felt great for the last few years. That’s down to the medical staff at Liverpool and with England altering my recovery programmes.”

Gerrard is refusing to get carried away by the start his team have made. Nevertheless, he’s clearly encouraged by the way his club are developing under Brendan Rodgers.

“We had a fantastic pre-season tour,” he says. “The team spirit was great, everyone was happy and it was probably one of the hardest pre-seasons I’ve had in 15 or 16 years in terms of fitness work.

“We’ve dug in during games better than we did last season. We’ve shown a mental toughness.

“We are making forward steps and are closing the gap on the top four. But we’re not getting carried away.

“All the other teams have strengthened as well so we know there’s still a lot of hard work to do if we are to nudge one of those sides out of the top four.”

One of the key roles Gerrard has played over the summer has been to bend Luis Suarez’s ear about the benefits of staying on Merseyside.

The Uruguayan’s desire for Champions League football appeared likely to force a move away from Anfield but Liverpool rejected Arsenal’s bid and the striker is likely to figure in the Capital One Cup at Manchester United next Wednesday as his 10-game ban finishes.

“I didn’t see it as a step forward for Luis in his career to move to Arsenal,” says Gerrard.

“He is so good, there are only two or three clubs he should leave for.

“If he stays another year, he’ll be fantastic for us and he’ll get another opportunity to move to a club he deserves to be at a Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.

“We’re not a one-man team but you can understand why people say it.

“We are a bit off the Champions League but it would be a pity to ruin the relationship he has with supporters to go to another English club.

“You saw what happened with Ferndando Torres. I don’t think he should make that move and that’s the advice I’ve given him.”