Setanta's Steve McManaman willing Liverpool to title glory

6 March 2009: 10:01am

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Jan 15 2009 by Michael Marshall, Liverpool Echo

“My affinity for Liverpool is as strong as it always has been, of course it is,” said McManaman, who wore the Liver Bird on his chest some 364 times, scoring 66 goals. “I’ve heard it all before when people say that because I was an Evertonian when I was a kid that I’m not bothered.

“Maybe if the situation now had been the case back then, when you could play in the Champions League by finishing fourth, things might have been different. It had nothing to do with contractual issues.

“I’ve said it a thousand times and people may or may not choose to listen. But the reason I left was to accept a different challenge, for footballing reasons. I wanted to play in the Champions League and Real Madrid gave me that chance. Living in Spain was a fantastic experience.

“But how could I not have an affinity for Liverpool? I know Rafa Benitez very well, as I do Rick Parry and David Moores. I played in the same team as Stevie and Carra and play for the Liverpool legends teams when I can.

“Put it this way – I will be over the moon if Stevie and Carra have got their hands on that trophy in May and I honestly believe they have an outstanding chance of doing it.”

Manchester United could be top by the time Howard Webb gets Monday night’s derby under way, but even that possible scenario won’t cause McManaman – whose four-year spell in Spain saw him win the Champions League twice – to alter his view.

“People go on about them being ready to collapse but I just don’t see it,” he continued. “Over the last three months, they have looked incredibly strong and have played the best football out of the top three. All Chelsea seem to be doing is be chugging along.

“Prior to last weekend, Manchester United had been poor in a number of games and hadn’t been scoring too many goals. Can you say the same about Liverpool? No. Never mind what happened against Stoke.

“They’ve got the best player in the country (Gerrard), the best centre-forward in the country (Fernando Torres) has been missing and if he comes back firing on all cylinders, what’s stopping them?

“Pressure? That’s nonsense. There’s no pressure for Stevie – he’s played in two European Cup finals. Is there any pressure for the Spanish lads who played in the Euro 2008 final? The games they have got coming up are like getting out of bed in the morning.”