Sunday, March 29, 2009

Liverpool Youngster Jay Spearing Dreams Of Emulating Steven Gerrard


The Birkenhead kid wants to be just like another famous local boy who is currently reaping punditry acclaim all over the world.

Liverpool midfielder Jay Spearing made his home debut for the Reds earlier this month when Rafa Benitez's men destroyed Real Madrid 4-0 at Anfield.

That, understandably, was a night that the youngster says he will never forget, but he has lofty ambitions to become a local-born heartbeat to the side in the manner of his hero, current Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard, whom he replaced on that memorable evening.

"That’s exactly what I want to be doing at Liverpool," the Birkenhead-born midfielder told The Liverpool Echo.

"Anything I can do that comes even close to what Stevie has achieved would be incredible. To get two Champions League appearances already is great for me. Three years ago that was the kind of thing I was dreaming of.

"I’d always be thinking that I want to play in the Champions League and the Premier League. I want to do this, I want to do that. But to actually have that reality rubber stamped now and to say I’ve done it is fantastic.

"Knowing that I’ve played in what is probably the biggest club tournament in the world will give me bags of confidence going forward. But I’ve got to take things as they come now, day by day and keep working hard."

The response of the fans to his first appearance was also something else that the 20-year-old will never forget, especially as the crowd were heard to chant his name.

"I’ll remember it for the rest of my life, definitely," he added.

"I’m not going to forget my Anfield debut against Real Madrid in a hurry am I? One of my mates asked me afterwards how I felt and to be perfectly honest I felt more nervous on my debut against PSV.

"That was the first time I’d travelled and actually got on the pitch. At Anfield, I had a few of our fans shouting to me when I was warming up, saying ‘come on’ and all that.

"That helped settle me down and gave me confidence, knowing I had the fans behind me."

And the youngster went on to reveal just how exciting the Anfield occasion was, particularly with the intensity of the crowd noise at pitch level.

"When we got to half time and it was 2-0 I was thinking ‘Oh come on, I just want to have a go. Just get me on and give me a go’," he added.

"The atmosphere was incredible and when Stevie G scored the third I couldn’t believe just how loud the crowd could be from down on the touchline. When you’re in the stand it is loud enough but when you’re down at the side of the pitch it’s deafening. It sent shivers down my body, never mind Stevie’s.

"After that I was like ‘Oh please, just give me a go. Any time will do. But then when I eventually got on it was more a case of excitement than thinking about anything else. I just wanted to get out there and show what I could do to help the team.

“But I had to keep my head together. There’s no point me going round trying to snap or kick people. I thought ‘just play your own game, get the ball down, start passing it and enjoy yourself’.

"I thought I did okay."

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