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Brendan Rodgers says it is a “privilege” for the Liverpool squad to play alongside Steven Gerrard.

And the Reds boss has labelled the club captain as the ‘ultimate professional’.

Gerrard began Saturday’s game with West Bromwich Albion in his usual deep-lying role but was pushed further forward in the closing stages as Liverpool looked tie up a nervy game at Anfield.

The Liverpool skipper combined well with substitute Mario Balotelli as Rodgers’s side chased a third goal to kill off the Baggies.

The game in pictures:

Rodgers says it had not been pre-planned for Gerrard to finish the match so far advanced but he felt Balotelli needed to play alongside someone of the 34-year-old’s quality.

The Reds manager is refusing to rule out starting Gerrard in the No.10 role once he has a fully fit squad from which to choose from.

But Rodgers knows that wherever he asks the Liverpool captain to play he will always deliver the goods.

“He is a superstar player,” said Rodgers.

“This guy is world class. I think for anyone playing alongside Steven Gerrard it is a privilege for them.

“He is a player that makes the game look simple and Mario Balotelli knows he is playing with one of the greats of the game.

“You have an outstanding player in Steven feeding a player who needs certain types of passes and he can provide that.”

James Pearce on LFC 2 West Brom 1:

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Rodgers added: “If I was to be asked about the profession of football and to define a footballer I would say ‘Steven Gerrard’ in every capacity.

“In how he trains, how he works, how he handles the media. The respect he shows for a manager, how he performs, his humility in everything he does is incredible, really.”

Rodgers explained his decision to push Gerrard up the field in the closing stages by saying: “It is not that he hasn’t been outstanding in the role he has played for us but I felt that in the game his influence to combine with Balotelli at that time might help us.

“So I felt we needed to have the energy behind him.

“That is the third tough game in a week for Steven but he still has so much quality and I felt that if we were under pressure defensively then there were bigger spaces for him to cover.

“But if I put him in the No.10 he is working in a shorter space and you could see his quality. I thought he was brilliant.

“It was so refreshing to see that cleverness and brightness. And that’s why I did it because I felt he could add something to our game at that point.

Rodgers went on to add: “It is just the feeling in the game you get as a coach and manager.

“I never came into the game thinking that was what I was going to do, but see the game develop. There are some things you do plan in your mind but there are intuitive things that can help the team.

“I felt it freshened up and brightened up the game for us and gave us a quality at the top of the field and gave us another level.”

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