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Jordan Henderson has revealed he still speaks to Steven Gerrard about being Liverpool captain.

The midfielder, who currently wears the armband, said the Anfield legend spoke to him in a lot of detail about what it is like and how best to cope with the honour and demands of the role.

Gerrard, who now manages Rangers, captained his side 473 times during his incredible career at Liverpool.

When Henderson was first handed the captaincy he also said manager Jurgen Klopp helped him with the responsibility but he now feels like he's grown into the position.

"When I first got the role, it was a big responsibility but one that I enjoyed," Henderson said.

"I looked forward to taking on the role otherwise I wouldn’t have done it. As time has gone on, it has got a lot easier.

"I spoke to Stevie before he left in a lot of detail and I still speak to him now and again.

"It's nice to see him doing well.

"When the gaffer came in, he helped me a lot with the role and the responsibility and to be honest, we have other leaders in the dressing room which makes it a lot easier for me.

"I see a good core of leaders in the team who lead the whole group and I think I’ve learned a lot over the past few years and I’ve obviously grown into the role. Now it’s pretty normal.

"I’ve always had good people around me and I still have. I couldn’t ask for a better group of lads in terms of our dressing room. It’s an amazing group, who hopefully can produce something special this season."

(Image: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Liverpool are challenging for the Premier League title this year and play Manchester United on Sunday in a bid to return back to the top of the table.

Henderson has played more times against Jose Mourinho's side than any other opponent in the domestic competition.

In fact the Liverpool captain has faced United 16 times for the Reds - the same amount of games he has played against Chelsea.

The midfielder said he is desperate to play in the match because of the huge rivalry between the two sides but is aware of the fact the midfield is a very competitive area to stake a claim in at Anfield and despite being captain has to settle for occasionally missing out.

"It's extra special - Liverpool v United is a big game all over the world," Henderson said.

"A lot of people will be watching it and the rivalry there makes it special so of course as players you want to be playing in those types of games.

"I can’t remember the last time we beat them in the league, so that shows how tough a game it is and how good they are really.

"So there is no new opportunity for us to go and show what we’re about and keep putting in the level of performance that we have been. If we do that, we can get the result we want.

"We've got a fantastic squad and everybody's fighting to play so it's a difficult decision for the manager.

"But as players I think we've coped with it really well this season when people haven't been playing. They've come in and done really well when called upon and that's the most important thing if you want to be successful."

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In the midfield Jurgen Klopp has a number of options at his disposal and Henderson's inclusion will depend on the set-up the manager decides to select.

It comes after three new midfield players arrived at Melwood over the summer in the form of Fabinho, Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri to add to the competition of Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner and Henderson himself.

The Reds captain said he understood that this was just "part and parcel of football".

(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

He explained: "You want to make signings, especially the ones we make, because they're top players. It makes the team stronger and gives us a better chance of winning trophies ultimately and that's what everybody wants.

"As players you've got to keep improving, keep learning, keep playing well to get your place in the team.

"I think that's normal in football, if you look at the top sides in Europe the squads are very good. They've got world class players coming in off the bench and it's the same here.

"Everybody's fighting to play and the manager can only pick 11 so it's difficult for him. But those who maybe don't start have to be ready to come in when called upon."

Henderson said that in football "you've always got to improve, keep learning, keep wanting to get better", which is what drives him on to perform at his highest level for Liverpool.

He added: "Things move forward very quickly and you need to keep up with it. You want to be the best that you can be as well, it's good to have that competition, it's healthy and so far it's been brilliant for us this season and we need to keep using that positive energy whether you're playing or not, and the lads have been fantastic at that so far."