On-loan midfielder has Wembley in sights

AS LIVERPOOL go through the motions on Sunday, one of the club's players is hoping to be involved in his biggest game of the season.

Jay Spearing will be 120 miles south of Hull at the Walkers Stadium where Leicester entertain Cardiff in the first leg of their Championship, semi-final play-off.

With the mouthwatering prospect of a grand finale at Wembley against either Blackpool or Nottingham Forest, the on loan academy graduate is the only Reds player whose season could end with a silver lining.

Still, the boyhood Liverpool fan is gearing up for the weekend with mixed emotions.

"The prospect of playing at Wembley and helping Leicester into the Premier League is a nice thought," says Spearing.

"But it comes with a sense of disappointment that Liverpool have gone out of the Carling Cup and FA Cup early. It would have been nice for Liverpool to be playing at Wembley too.

"No-one is happy with how the season has gone at Liverpool. But all we can do now is put that behind us, look forward and prepare for next season with the aim of getting back up there at the top of the table and fighting for trophies."

Spearing joined Everton's James Vaughan at Leicester on a three month loan deal in March and has been an instant success in Nigel Pearson's side.

Since sitting out a 3-0 defeat at promoted West Bromwich Albion last month, the Wirral-born midfielder has been involved in each of a five game winning streak that has helped the Foxes secure a play-off place.

Leicester face Cardiff on Sunday and Wednesday but, despite his impressive form, Spearing knows he is not guaranteed a place in either game.

"There's a lot of competition for places here so I can't sit back and think just because I've played in the last five games I'll be in against Cardiff," he said.

"It will be great to be included but I've still got to work hard in training to get my place in that team."

It was a lack of first team opportunities at Liverpool that persuaded the 21-year-old to chance his arm on loan.

With Everton's Seamus Coleman also enjoying a spell at Blackpool, Spearing is one of three Merseyside based players with ambitions beyond Sunday's Premier League swansong.

Although he's enjoying his time at Leicester, his ultimate goal is to return to Melwood this summer and fight for a first team place.

"It's a good standard in the Championship where I've been playing against players with a lot of experience," says Spearing.

"We've had a tough run of games since I've been here against the likes of Reading, Cardiff, Middlesbrough, West Brom and Preston.

"I've definitely benefited from it, playing week in, week out in competitive games.

"Obviously, it's a disappointment when you're not playing all the time at your club. But if you look at the players in front of me at Liverpool, the likes of Steven Gerrard and Javier Mascherano, I can't really complain can I.

"This was a time in my career that I needed to go out and get some first team experience and play games.

"I'm hoping it stands me in good stead for when I get back to Liverpool, hopefully with a Championship play-off winners medal. Then I can start fighting for a place in Liverpool's first team squad again

"The boss (Rafa Benitez) told me I was going out to get experience but he wanted me back straight away.

"He told me he's not shutting the door. I was very pleased to hear that and it's given me a lot of confidence to come here and prove that I can play at this level. It's all about experience to take back to Liverpool."

Should Leicester get past Cardiff, Spearing will be the first Liverpool player to experience Wembley with a trophy on the line.

For now though, Cardiff is the focus.

He figured in a 2-1 defeat at the Bluebirds Cardiff City Stadium in late March.

That was just one of two defeats that Spearing has been involved in.

He has been someting of a lucky charm for Leicester and hopes his good fortune continues.

"We're the home team on Sunday so we've got to come out flying," said Spearing, who scored his first league goal in a 4-1 win over Watford.

"We've been scoring for fun at home recently. We need to keep that confidence and urgency going. If we do that we can sneak a result at home.

"We lost 2-1 at Cardiff and were a bit disappointed in our first half performance. We let two sloppy goals in but then came out flying after the break and put them under a lot of pressure.

"We've got a great chance but we know how dangerous Cardiff can be. They've got some great players too. It will be tough but there's no reason why we can't do it.

"I was a bit nervous about my first loan spell away from Liverpool but everything has clicked into place. I just hope we can get to Wembley now."

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.