Brendan Rodgers made Jordan Henderson his vice-captain at the start of the season and the Liverpool manager says the midfielder is a natural candidate to take over the captaincy once Steven Gerrard has left.

Rodgers, whose team face AFC Wimbledon at Kingsmeadow on Monday night, said: “I think Jordan Henderson has all the leadership attributes, that was one of the reasons I made him vice-captain. I felt he had no greater captain to learn from than Steven, he was benefiting from his example even before he was vice-captain, but certainly in that new role he has been in pole position in terms of learning from a great, how the job works on and off the field. So when the day comes that Steven does move on we feel we have someone there to offer the same wisdom and knowledge even if he is a different type of player.”

Rodgers admits Liverpool are bound to miss Gerrard’s leadership and inspirational qualities, but believes there are other leaders within the squad who will take the opportunity to fill the vacuum. “We’ve got players here that are keen and hungry to progress,” Rodgers said. “I see leadership qualities even in the likes of young Raheem Sterling. This is a kid that will go on and develop into a world-class talent, a consistent performer.

“We have enough leaders in that changing room that will now step up and hopefully grow into the type of captain a successful team needs. At times when Steven was on the bench I felt the players were looking for his leadership, looking for the captain to come on. This is an opportunity now for the players from within to take a step forward, because from the end of the season Steven won’t be here.”

The AFC Wimbledon goalkeeper James Shea would love to follow in Dave Beasant’s footsteps by making an impact against Liverpool – but remarkably admits to not having seen Beasant’s penalty save from the 1988 FA Cup final.

Monday will be a special occasion for everybody associated with the Dons, who are in the FA Cup third round for the first time since their rebirth in 2002.

Player trials on Wimbledon Common and Combined Counties League football seems an awful long time ago now, though, with the club chasing promotion from League Two and readying themselves for a mouth-watering clash with Liverpool.

The Kingsmeadow encounter brings with it memories of the most famous day in Wimbledon’s history, when the Crazy Gang shocked the Merseyside behemoths to win the FA Cup.

Lawrie Sanchez scored the decisive goal at Wembley, although captain Beasant’s save from a John Aldridge penalty remains the iconic image. “I haven’t seen the save but I’ve heard it is unbelievable,’’ Shea said. “I remember [former AFC Wimbledon manager] Dave Anderson telling me about it when I was about to join.

“He talked me through the whole history of the club and everything, but I haven’t had the chance to see it yet. I’ve been meaning to see the Crazy Gang documentary as well, but I don’t have BT Sport. My old man has recorded it for me so I’ve got to go around his and watch it.

“I’ve seen [other] videos, I’ve seen the goal and inside the stadium there are pictures everywhere. It was a great day for them. They weren’t expected to win and hopefully we can replicate what they done.’’

Beasant will be among the 4,800 crammed into Kingsmeadow on Monday and, given his own career started with non-league Edgware Town, he will appreciate Shea’s journey to AFC Wimbledon.

The 23-year-old came through the ranks at Arsenal, where, alongside the likes of Jack Wilshere, he won the 2009 FA Youth Cup against Liverpool.

Shea progressed to the first team and was on the bench for five Champions League matches during the 2012-13 season – what proved to be his last campaign with the Gunners.

The Islington-born goalkeeper was released and dropped into non-league with Harrow Borough, leading him to seriously consider a future out of the game.

“It was getting to that point when I had to think ‘what am I going to do with myself?’,’’ Shea said. “I didn’t know. I wasn’t too sure. All I ever wanted to do was play football and to go into non-league it was a shock.’’

Thankfully for Shea it all worked out and the goalkeeper calls his time with Harrow the best thing he has ever done.

The goalkeeper remains thankful to the club and Anderson for helping him get the move back to league football with Wimbledon, for whom he will be the last line of defence against Liverpool.

“It’s going to be a very hard game – not just for me, but the whole team,” Shea said.

“It is a great game to be a part of. We are in a no-lose situation, really.

We’re not expected to win, apart from the pressure we put on ourselves. Hopefully we can put on a show on Monday.’’

The Dons manager, Neal Ardley, will be able to call on defenders Adam Barrett and Jake Goodman, whose loan spells expire after Monday’s tie.

The vice-captain Barry Fuller is in contention after a hamstring tweak, while the midfielder Sammy Moore has overcome illness.