Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believe careful attention to detail has allowed Steven Gerrard to play to his maximum this season.
The midfielder, who will captain England in World Cup qualifying matches against San Marino and Montenegro later this month, has played every minute of every Premier League match for his club this season.
Gerrard, who turns 33 in May, is the only Premier League outfield player to do so and is currently enjoying his best form for some time having seen last season disrupted by an ankle problem. "Players like Steven Gerrard have played the most amount of games they ever have consecutively," Rodgers said.
Only 40 players have achieved the feat in the league's 21-year history. Rodgers believes the inspirational Reds captain is benefiting from the work put in by a backroom staff and medical department which was overhauled when he arrived in the summer.
Rodgers added: "His performance level, alongside a lot of the others, has been outstanding this year and that gives me great hope. We looked at every player. First and foremost it was about getting the commitment, it wasn't about motivation from the players.
"What we promised them was, once they were committed to what we were trying to do, there would be a plan put in place for the individual in order for him to play at their maximum.
"Steven has benefited from that. We revamped our medical and sports science team here and a lot of the work goes on behind the scenes.
"Our head of performance Glen Driscoll is in tune with how I work on the field, which allows him to develop the plan along with our sports science and medical team off the field.
"It is just a case of not throwing the blanket around every single one and seeing them as the same. They are very much a team but you have to look at the individual.
"For Steven it is about the right moments of recovery and rest, monitoring the intensity of his training and when he needs an extra recovery day. But the biggest thing is him. He wants to do it, he wants to learn, improve and be better and he has the trust in how we work and that is critical."
Source: PA
