Why Stevie wants to make a difference

The Fairbridge centre in Liverpool tries to catch kids before they drop out of society. Kids in foster homes who just can't settle at school. Disillusioned kids who have had their dreams shattered and their confidence crushed.

Some of them have behavioural problems, some more serious medical problems. Some are into drugs.

Now, however, they have a new friend, someone who grew up on their street but is in a position to help. Now they have Steven Gerrard. When Gerrard visits them, half an hour earlier than expected, all they actually want to do is discuss what they consider to be his problems.

'I took down all my posters of Torres last night,' says one lad in trying to share Gerrard's pain. But Gerrard wants to talk about them. Wants to hear their stories. Any talk about Liverpool, about the departure of Torres and the return, prior to that, of Kenny Dalglish, can wait for when he gives this interview later on in the afternoon. For now, his focus is on them.

One of the kids pipes up with a cheeky request for tickets. 'Listen,' says Gerrard with a smile. 'If you all pay attention to what the people here are telling you, if I hear from your teachers that you're starting to make progress, if you work hard and start thinking about how you can progress towards getting a job, then we can maybe look at that.'

There is a real empathy between Gerrard and these young people. Asked for the most valuable lesson he has learned in more than 20 years at Liverpool, he talks to them about 'the importance of respect'. In his case for his team-mates and the coaching staff at Anfield. In their case for their teachers and the incredible people who are trying to help them rebuild their lives at Fairbridge.

They all listen intently, hanging on his every word until a mobile phone goes off. 'I'll have to call you back,' says a lad of no more than 13 or 14 in what must be his serious, grown-up voice. 'I'm with Steven Gerrard.'

Gerrard got involved with Fairbridge after deciding to form The Steven Gerrard Foundation. A foundation, given how long he has served the club, that at some point could well benefit from a testimonial match.

Were Gerrard to be rewarded with one, he would give all the proceeds to the children's charities he is choosing to support. 'If an event like that happens, a large sum of money will be raised and I would want to do something useful with it,' he says. 'I think if you're a footballer and you've enjoyed the kind of success that I have, the least you can do is give that back to people who need it. I would give back every penny I earn in that situation.

'Footballers at a different level - lads in the lower leagues - have a different decision to make under those circumstances. And I understand that. But for players atthis level, who have had a lot of success financially, I think there is a responsibility. I would be quite proud to be giving something back.'

Gerrard has formed his foundation with the support and guidance of the Consortium for Street Children and the London-based sports marketing agency, Sportcel, who have been appointed to handle the fund-raising events. Together, they intend to use Gerrard's profile to support a variety of charities in Liverpool and across the country.

'By setting up the foundation we can do some fund-raising for years to come,' he says. 'There's certainly a big pleasure in giving something back to my city. I've been to different organisations in Liverpool that are in desperate need of money and I feel I'm in a position where I can raise a lot. And I enjoy it. You see the smiles on the kids' faces. The reaction you get from them. It's fantastic.'

Like the kids, Gerrard grew up on a Liverpool council estate. 'But I was lucky,' he says. 'I had a bit of direction. I joined Liverpool at eight and I got a taste of what Liverpool Football Club was all about. And I loved going there, once or  maybe twice a week. I never wanted to lose that, from when I first joined.

'Don't get me wrong, I did dip my toe in and get up to a bit of mischief. But when there were opportunities to take the wrong road - and plenty of lads I knew did - I always had it in the back of my mind that I needed to stay out of trouble.

'I knew that if I got up to certain things, I might not be able to play for the school. Or play on a Sunday for my amateur team. Or train with Liverpool. Steve Heighway ran the academy then and he and his coaches played a massive role in my development. As a person as well as a player. He was always in contact with my parents, finding out what I was up to after school. It wasn't just about when you turned up to train at Liverpool. It was about how you behaved  way from it as well.'

Some of the kids at Fairbridge are blessed with sporting talent. One lad fancies himself as a boxer and the staff are proud to reveal that a former student is now at the jockey school at Newmarket. In turning round the lives of the young people they encounter, they have a remarkable 80 per cent success rate.

'Growing up on a council estate can be tough,' says Gerrard. 'I think some of these kids lose confidence and belief. I think they start to believe that their lives are going nowhere and they start to give up.

'They don't believe they can end up with a good job. They lose faith in their ability to achieve their dreams. And it gets harder and harder. On the streets there is a lot of crime and trouble.

'I always had my head screwed on. If I hadn't been a footballer I think I would have learned a trade, maybe run my own business. I like the responsibility of leadership. But people don't always appreciate how tough it can get for these kids.

'I want my children to get involved in the foundation as part of their education. I want them to see there are people in this city who are struggling, who have major problems, who need help. My attitude is that it's never too late. You can always turn things round. But we need to help these kids realise that.'

A quick drive through the Wallasey Tunnel and Gerrard arrives at Claire House, a hospice for terminally ill children. Again, he is terrific with the kids; the parents, too. He recognises some people he met years earlier on a visit with the England squad. 'Their daughter was only one at the time,' he says.

As the captain of Liverpool and a powerful symbol of his city, Gerrard takes his responsibility extremely seriously. He has a bond with his home town as well as his home club. A bond with the people. It is a bond he considers unbreakable.

He admits, as he has in the past, that there were occasions when he was tempted to leave. But in choosing to stay, the bond has grown stronger and, at 30, he now says he will finish his career at the club.

'Since the speculation about Chelsea emerged I've been asked that question a lot,' he says. 'And I've always held my hand up and said, yes, it did turn my head at the time, mainly because of a lack of success that we had had at Liverpool. And the interest was not just from Chelsea. It was from anumber of big clubs, so of course it's going to turn your head.

'But I'm well past that now. Well over it. I won't be going anywhere else. I'm 31 this summer and I tell myself every day that I made the right decision. I'm pleased because, when I look back on my career, I have no regrets. I would have regretted leaving Liverpool.

'People on the outside, who don't have the bond I have with the club, may not understand that. They will make judgments and say I could have won my trophies and earned more money if I had gone elsewhere. But that's not important to me because I still feel I can win a couple more trophies with Liverpool and, if I do, they will mean an awful lot more to me.

'It's more important for me to share the success I have enjoyed, and hopefully will in the future, with the people who live around me, the people who care about me and love me. The relationship I have with them is that special.'

I suggest it is much the same for Jamie Carragher, his great friend and team-mate.

'For us it's a lot bigger than just turning out for Liverpool,' he says. 'There's a massive sense of responsibility because there are hundreds of thousands of supporters, millions, across the world. They are relying on you to deliver and we take that home with us. It affects our lives.

'It's not just about going to work. It's so much bigger than that.'

One man who has long understood that is Dalglish, and Gerrard has certainly welcomed his return as manager, just as he has welcomed the arrival of John W Henry and Tom Werner and with them the departure of Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

'The football club is much happier now,' he says. 'It's in a better place than it has been for a few years. We've got new owners, who I've spoken to quite a lot, who are passionate about what they want to do.

'I trust them, I trust them even more after what's happened in the last week or so. And the way they've acted, coming towards the end of the transfer window, has impressed me. I was a bit wary at first because I was maybe a bit guilty of trusting the previous owners too much.

'This time I've taken a bit more time in judging them. But they've been brilliant so far. They have put the club back in a good place already and the last three or four weeks have been really positive. We've had some good results. The lads are smiling again. I've actually enjoyed going to work again.'

Dalglish is the main reason. 'It does feel right him being back,' says Gerrard.

'First and foremost, he's a good person. He's helped me throughout my career. The advice he has given me, even before coming back as manager. He's always had time for me. Cared for me. I know how much he wanted this job and I'm just glad he got what he wanted.

'I feel he can take the club forward. As everyone knows, it's a results business. But so far, so good, and I'd love him to get the contract extended.

'He's brought everything together. Growing up, my experience of Liverpool was that you don't hang out your dirty washing in public. For the last couple of years there's been a lot of bad press. Non-stop.

'That's not the way we want the club to be run. But Kenny's come in and he's lifted the fans and the players. I think you can see that in the determination they have shown in the last few games. The players are certainly playing for Kenny.'

Even Torres appeared to be trying harder. Until, that is, he put in a transfer request and moved to Chelsea for £50million. 'I was heartbroken,' says Gerrard. 'Absolutely gutted. But I also called him after he left.

'There are no hard feelings. I built up a relationship with Fernando and became his friend. He scored some fantastic goals and I have fantastic memories. I enjoyed playing with him. So you can't go from one extreme to another and fall out with him, start criticising him.

'But he will also understand how I feel. Fernando is a bright person and he will understand that the Liverpool fans are upset as well.'

Liverpool, clearly, did not have the same hold on Torres as it does on Gerrard. 'Of course,' he says. 'Fernando is from Spain. Yeah, he had a bond, and a lot of affection for the Liverpool fans. But he felt his best move was to move on to Chelsea.'

Was it perhaps because he feared he would not end that search for a first major club medal at Anfield?

'OK,' says Gerrard, pausing for a moment and now wearing a rather more serious expression. That's probably a little more difficult for me to take because I felt he could have helped me and the other players achieve more success at Liverpool.

'But listen. Every man is their own man and they have to make their own decisions. And you have to respect that decision. I was just sad to see it happen.

'The way it's worked out has been good. We've ended up signing two very talented players and that leaves me feeling very positive about the rest of the season as well as beyond.

'In Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez, we've replaced Fernando really well. They can become a formidable partnership. The owners, with Kenny and Damien Comolli, have been terrific. The owners have put the money straight back in.

'They didn't want to sell Fernando. They spent the last few weeks trying to keep him. But when a player makes his mind up, you can't stand in his way. We might not have got the best out of him if he didn't want to be here.'

So what now? What about the longer-term future? How will he maintain that bond with his city and his club?

'For now I'll just concentrate on playing for as long as Liverpool want me,' he says. 'But after that I'm not sure. I'll never leave the city but I think about what I'll do after I've finished playing quite a bit. I also change my mind all the time, between staying involved in the game and not staying involved.

'Obviously people talk about Jamie as a future manager. I don't know if that's for me and I don't want to put any extra pressure on Jamie. But, for me, he's got the drive and the knowledge, as well as the will to win, to be a top manager. His knowledge of the game is frightening.

'It's his decision but I'd love nothing better than to see Jamie managing the club one day. Both of us will always want to help a club we love so much.'

In the same way he wants to help these children.

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