Gerrard: Raring (ShaunBotterill/Allsport)

Gerrard revealed: 'That was the game, the one more than any other that hit me really hard about what I was missing. That was the sacrifice I had made.'

Compelled by injury and a surgeon's appointment to stay at home, Liverpool's combative midfielder is now in search of compensation. He feels it can only be delivered by Anfield's first Premiership title.

And once more Gerrard is looking to foreign lands to achieve his ambition.

He believes Gerard Houllier's ever dwindling contingent of home-raised players must rouse, cajole, even verbally bully the array of expensive imports to show them England's championship is a prize beyond compare. Perhaps Gerrard's message might first be tested on new arrivals El Hadji Diouf and Bruno Cheyrou.

Gerrard, 21, appreciates, too, that Liverpool's readiness for the campaign ahead will be examined in today's Community Shield joust with Double winners Arsenal in Cardiff.

The England international explained: 'I'm from a family of Liverpool supporters and, living in and around this city, you can tell right away the hunger the fans have for the title.

'Being a fan all my life, I'm no different. So it's down to me and the rest of the local English lads to try to put that across to some of the foreign players at the club. If we can get them to be really up for it in the Premiership, then maybe this time we can win it. Hopefully they can add to what we already have at Liverpool.

'When they arrive here it's drilled into them straight away that the championship is the main trophy, the one to win. It's the bread and butter to us.'

In a decade of Manchester United dominance, occasionally broken by Arsene Wenger's foreign legion, Liverpool have been little more than interested observers.

Gerrard said: 'It will be a closer fight this time. You have to give credit to Arsenal. They were fantastic, never losing an away game. It will be down to them, us and Manchester United again.

'But we have Gerard Houllier as well. Since coming back from his operation, he is even hungrier to win. He has won the cups here already. Now you can see how desperate he is to win the Premier League.

'Some managers would have been happy with what he has already achieved. But Gerard Houllier is not like that. He wants more.'

The Frenchman, so close to death less than a year ago, has a relentless sense of destiny at Anfield.

Just as the rested Gerard focuses on the desire of his comrades from abroad, Houllier has switched the emphasis to the player he is convinced can make the difference.

He said: 'Our main failure last season was a lack of goals from midfield. If you want to win the title, you must score 45 or 50 goals from that department. That is the one area where Arsenal were better than us. Hopefully Cheyrou and Gerrard will do that for us.

'The season before last, Steven scored 10 goals. Last season he got four. The modern midfield player should be able to attack and defend, make goals and score goals. Young Gerrard could be like Germany's Michael Ballack as an attacking threat.

'You don't start your career saying you can play only one position. All the time you add more responsibility to it. Certainly Gerrard has increased the scope of his game.

'I don't like players who think they do only one job. They are dead to me. You have to do different things. Gerrard can be defensive and also score goals, as he has already proved. Ballack, at this point, is more efficient but he is 25 and Gerrard only 22.'