Steven Gerrard
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard. REUTERS

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has lauded the influence of former Reds' teammate Dietmar Hamann and revealed the influence the German international has had on his career to date.

Gerrard and Hamann played alongside each other for seven years at Anfield, winning two League Cups, two FA Cups, a UEFA Cup and the Champions League.

And Gerrard believes he would not have achieved such success in his own career were it not for the effect of the German international.

"He was my safety net. The reason people speak about me and how I played with Didi was because he was there," Gerrard told the official Liverpool Web site.

"He allowed me to go forward, score and set up goals, and he did all my defensive work and tackling for me.

"At the time we had him, he was in his prime and he was up there with the best holding midfielders in the world.

"There's no Liverpool fan, player or coach at Anfield who wouldn't love him to be 26 or 27 now and still doing his stuff because that's how good he was."

Hamann made 283 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 11 goals before joining Manchester City in 2006.

"He came to a top club, one of the best in the world, and he enjoyed it and the lads," added Gerrard.

"It was successful for him. He won the treble in 2001, he won the European Cup and I think off the pitch he's been good to the fans."

Meanwhile, Kenny Dalglish has confirmed Steven Gerrard will return for Monday's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur.

Gerrard was rested for Wednesday's 3-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers but is in line to make a return for Spurs' trip to Anfield.

"Steven will be back in the squad for Monday, so we're looking quite healthy at the moment - but there are three days of training to go, so more often than not you can pick up something in that" Dalglish told the official Liverpool Web site.

"But at the moment we look as though we're okay and have players to choose from. That gives us a problem, but it's a pleasant one."

Dalglish also has Luis Suarez available again after the Uruguayan international completed his eight-match ban.

"Luis is smashing. He's good; he's in and around the place and he's quite happy. We'll have a look and see how he is in training before we pick a team for Monday night," Dalglish said.

"We'll take everything into mind - we'll have a look at Luis, we'll have a look at the other boys who have played and we'll have a look at the opposition and then we'll make our decision.

"It's great to have him back and available for selection. He's a fantastic player, but then there are a lot of fantastic players in the squad. The stronger your squad is, the better chance you have of competing - and he certainly makes the squad stronger as an awful lot of them do."