Liverpool’s heroic captain Steven Gerrard has hit back at recent criticism of him, saying that it had been taken too far, as reported by the Daily Mirror.
The former England captain, who retired from the national side after the World Cup, was better on Saturday than in recent weeks.
His stunning free kick had seemingly sent Liverpool on their way to a win in the Merseyside derby, although Phil Jagielka scored for the Toffees shortly before the final whistle, meaning that the points were shared.
Having seen his goal wiped out by a defender scoring only his seventh goal in seven seasons, Gerrard was still keen to point out that those questioning his ability were taking things to the extreme.
He said: “I’ll agree with the constructive criticism and I’ve been stifled in a couple of games when people have followed me around and I haven’t been able to shake them off.
“But then some people take it too far and say ‘He’s 34, he can’t run and he’s finished’.
“I can still compete with the best players around. It’s nice to remind people that although I’m 34, I can still run, I can still play and I can compete with the best players around.”
The midfielder helped lead Liverpool back into the Champions League last season, although he made a costly mistake in a clash with Chelsea to cost the Reds in the title race.