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Football

27th Dec 2015

Lucas reveals that he can’t see anybody taking the no. 8 shirt at Liverpool

Big boots to fill

Darragh Murphy

At Anfield, there will always be the Steven Gerrard days and the post-Steven Gerrard days.

The Liverpool legend will likely go down as the greatest player to pull on the red shirt and his legacy is perfectly respected in the changing room at Anfield.

Former teammate Lucas, who is now Liverpool’s longest serving player, has told the Daily Mail how important a force Gerrard was on Merseyside.

West Ham United v Liverpool - Premier League

“He was our leader, the captain,” Lucas said. “So many times he stepped in front of the team and took responsibility.

“Like the fans I think we prepared ourselves for him not being there at the start of pre-season. We had a nice trip to Dubai — all the players — to say goodbye. We prepared it as a kind of surprise for him. We’d never done that before. We did it to show how much he would be missed. How much he means to us.”

Liverpool v Wigan Athletic

Lucas also revealed that since Gerrard swapped Liverpool for LA Galaxy in the summer, that his locker has not been used and that he’d be surprised if any new players would take Gerrard’s former shirt number.

“But his locker was left free and nobody took the No 8 either. I don’t think people will take that number. I wouldn’t. It’s a big responsibility.’”