Liverpool have produced some truly great players over the years, yet few can hold a candle to Steven Gerrard.
The former Anfield captain and England international is regarded as one of Liverpool’s greatest-ever players, with Gerrard leading the Reds to virtually every single piece of silverware and being the main man behind some of the club’s most famous moments.
From Man of the Match performances in FA Cup finals and the UEFA Champions League, the former no. 8 enjoyed a career that will be hard for any player to match, with Real Madrid-bound Trent Alexnader-Arnold the most recent Liverpool academy graduate to challenge for the title.
Such a career meant Gerrard had to have his head on straight, though, and former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones has now shared what the midfielder was really like in training when it came to dealing with players he didn’t rate.
Gerrard ‘was brutal’ with casting players aside who weren’t good enough
Speaking to Optus Sport, the former Australia international shared how Gerrard didn’t hold back in casting off players in Liverpool training who he did not think were good enough to play for the Reds.
Given how successful Gerrard was as captain of Liverpool, the former England international’s level of power at the club was beyond anything any player could now possess, and the midfielder seemingly used this control to get the best out of those who were willing to push themselves.
Jones said: “There was no down day at Liverpool, we rarely got the day off, but there was no down day. If you were bad one day, scrap heap, it was brutal, players would be cast aside if Gerrard [didn’t think they were doing enough].
“One thing about Stevie, who I get along with really well, if he didn’t like somebody, you’d see the look, and I saw it a few times, and it was like: ‘Na, you’re not for me,’ and if you’re not for him, you’re not for Liverpool, because he was a powerful guy.”
Brad Jones also recounts Jurgen Klopp training session
Jones’ Liverpool career might have never hit the heights some were expecting from the former Middlesbrough star, but the goalkeeper’s reputation as a likeable guy seems to live on, especially when the shot-stopper recalled meeting Jurgen Klopp having been invited back to train as a free-agent.
Jones said: “I drive back into training and I see Klopp leaning up against a minivan having a smoke, so I was like: ‘Okay, who’s this guy?’ I’m already thinking: ‘He’s got no idea who I am,’ and as I start walking over and went to shake his hand he gave me the big Klopp hug and he told me to come in [for training].
“It was a cool Klopp experience, but man, I have not ran as much in my career as I did in those sessions, it was brutal, it was so full-on because it was pre-season.”
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