Jordan Ibe is hoping to emulate the
lofty achievements of captain Steven Gerrard as well as follow his path
to greatness.The Liverpool legend is set to leave Anfield at the end of
the season as the club's third-highest appearance maker of all-time and
fifth-highest scorer ever. Ibeh, who moved to Merseyside 2011 revealed
how the former English international has been a role model to upcoming
players while lamenting his department from the Reds squad.
"[Gerrard]'s been a big deal for us.
He's always helped all the other players in the team," Ibe told
Liverpoolfc.com "He's helped a lot of the young lads, including me, so
it's going to be a shame to lose him. But I'm happy for him to continue
his journey.
"Sometimes he doesn't even have to say
anything but you just see the way that he conducts himself on and off
the pitch; you can just see that he's a legend for the club. "Playing
with him, you just want to play to the best of your ability and it keeps
you on your toes. He's a great role model for the club and other
players."
He admits he was worried that he would
find playing time hard to come by in the event of a return, but credits
the manager for throwing him into first-team action immediately.
"I thought I was going to be at Derby
for the rest of the season but my aim was to always come back at one
point and it obviously happened and I've enjoyed it since," he
continued.
"I was thinking if I came back I might not play, I'd just be on the bench and watching most games just for experience.
"But everything's gone well enough and I have to thank the gaffer for that and I'm enjoying it.
"[Rodgers] spoke to me two weeks prior
to me coming back and he said the way we're playing now would give me a
chance to fit in," he added.
"He said, 'When you get back we'll just start training and hopefully you can get in and start playing games'.
"I slightly doubted it because I was
starting games at Derby, but he's come through and delivered so I've
been grateful for that," Ibeh concluded.
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