Gerrard hints at Anfield future

Martyn Ziegler

Gerrard has been repeatedly linked with a move to Premiership champions Chelsea, who lost to Liverpool in the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday.

The midfielder said last night after the Champions League final he would be "sitting down with (chief executive) Rick Parry and the gaffer (Rafael Benitez) and discussing the future".

While Gerrard is on the wish-list for many British and European managers, Liverpool's victory over Chelsea may have sealed his future.

"A result like this helps everyone at the club and we'll have a lot of positive things to talk about," said Gerrard.

" I've said all along all I wanted was to see the club going in the right direction and this shows we are," he added.

Gerrard also was the last Liverpool player to leave the pitch after the triumph over Chelsea, and he later paid tribute to the club's fans.

"The ground was shaking 50 minutes before the game during the warm-up. I have never known anything like it," he told Liverpool's website.

"At the end I felt like jumping in and celebrating with the fans. They are the best in the country by miles and I just hope they enjoy the final as much.

"It will be the proudest moment of my career when I lead these incredible men out in Istanbul.

"We have beaten the Premiership champions for the first time in five attempts this season, but it was well worth the wait."

But, while many fans' fears will be eased by Gerrard's statement, they also know their team will run out at the 80,000-capacity Ataturk Olympic stadium on May 25 for the Champions League final thanks to the master tactician they grabbed from Valencia last summer.

Benitez has won two La Liga titles and the UEFA Cup in the past three years with the Spanish giants, and has now turned his magical touch on the fading Merseysiders.

He has turned journeymen players into Kop heroes, and one, the rejuvenated John Arne Riise, says of the 42-year-old: "Rafa is the best manager in the world, tactically he is unbelievable.

"So many times he judges things perfectly and the way he prepares and picks the team gives us a lot of confidence.

"I know the players want to play for him and he deserves a lot of credit for what he has done in his first season in England.

"Everybody knows the system, what they are supposed to be doing and where they should be. He tells us all in great detail how he wants us to play and we just try to carry out those instructions.

"Over the whole season we have learned a lot and we can't wait for next season now.

"We have every confidence that we can go to Istanbul to win the trophy, we have beaten some great teams and we can do it again."

Chelsea's Jose Mourinho may have felt he was the world's greatest boss before being out-thought by Benitez in Tuesday's semi-final defeat at Anfield which robbed the Londoners of their treble dream.

But Benitez is better according to his Liverpool players.

German midfielder Dietmar Hamann said: "It was a great triumph for the manager, to reach the Champions League final in his first season here is very special, and he is special, and we are looking forward to the final now."

Riise also paid tribute to the Liverpool fans, adding: "The atmosphere was fantastic.

"The fans never stopped singing all night and we felt that we had to give them something back.

"Now they have a final to look forward to and I hope they enjoy it. Chelsea may be the best team in the league over the whole season because they are champions, but we have been the best team over the two legs of the final, whatever Jose Mourinho says."

Confidence, not surprisingly, is flooding through the Liverpool camp now as they prepare for the club's sixth European Cup final against AC Milan, who defeated PSV Eindhoven on away goals last night.

In the meantime, Chelsea players were awestruck by the performance of Jamie Carragher on Tuesday and claimed the defender was so influential he must have cloned himself!

The ubiquitous Carragher blocked numerous Chelsea shots during the match and Eidur Gudjohnsen

insisted the centre-back got the vital deflection to his drive in the last minute of injury time.

The Iceland striker said: "It was a tight angle and actually Jamie Carragher cleared it off the line.

"I controlled the ball, hit it quite well and thought it was going in, but it came off Carragher's thigh.

"I would have loved to see the net move at that moment, but it seemed that Carragher cloned himself last night. He was just about everywhere."

Chelsea skipper John Terry hopes Carragher will now go on to lift the European Cup in the final.

Terry added: "We've beaten Liverpool three times this season but they defended well both legs.

"Every shot that went on target Jamie Carragher threw himself in front of it.

"He was magnificent last night and has been all season. I'm really gutted but wish Liverpool all the best in the final."