Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina is delighted to have club captain Steven Gerrard back from injury and has described him as 'a born winner'.
Gerrard started his first game for the Merseyside giants in seven months on Saturday against Manchester United at Anfield in the Premier League and also found the target, as the match finished in a 1-1 draw.
Reina is overjoyed that the England international midfielder has recovered from a groin injury and is hopeful of watching him in action regularly this season.
"Stevie is the badge of this football club, the soul of this team and we are more than happy to have him back in the team," said the Spaniard in the Liverpool Echo.
"Hopefully he will be back for a long, long time. Just by the fact that he is on the pitch it is an inspiration for us.
"He always leads by example and anything he does he does with passion and a lot of commitment. He is a born winner."
The draw with champions United has placed Liverpool in fifth spot on 14 points from eight matches, making Reina optimistic of further progress in the table as the season unfolds.
"It's a positive thing to be disappointed at having not beaten Manchester United," enthused the 29-year-old.
"It speaks well about the hunger of the team and the performance of the team that clearly we deserved three points. It was unlucky but we have to keep going.
"We have been consistent so far this season. We had just one poor game at Spurs (4-0 defeat in September).
"It shows without doubt the progress that has been made. We are all much happier than a year ago.
"It is not about belief. It is about the quality of the team and the squad and the strength we have as a group.
"We have to work on a daily basis to improve, keep going and compete more often with the people above us.
"We will find out at the end of the season and hopefully the distance won't be that big."
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