Jordan Henderson came to Liverpool at a time when Steven Gerrard was the man - captain fantastic and all Reds fans adored their homegrown hero.
Gerrard returns to Anfield on Saturday but for the first time in his life he won’t be wanting a Liverpool win as he will be occupying the away dugout as Aston Villa manager.
The Reds will know the result of the Manchester City's 12.30pm game at home to Wolves before kick-off against Villa - and so will be aware of whether a win will send them to the summit of the Premier League or whether they need to close a four-point gap.
Gerrard will get some reception from the Anfield crowd but once the ball is kicked all sentiment will be put to one side as Jurgen Klopp ’s men have business to attend to.
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Henderson and Gerrard were team-mates for four years so the current Liverpool skipper will know all about the mindset of the Villa boss ahead of the match.
“Steven was a winner as a player and now he is a winner as a manager,” Henderson writes in his matchday programme notes .
“He will be coming to Anfield to win. It really is that simple.
“Our job is to do everything in our power to ensure that this doesn’t happen, but having been fortunate enough to train alongside him during his final years I have no doubts whatsoever that his sole motivation will be to be on the winning side.
“Sentiment will not come into it for him, but nor will it for us and knowing Steven as I do he wouldn’t expect anything different from his former club.
“As one of those who set the standards, his expectation will be for a contest every bit as tough as the 50/50 tackles he used to relish when we were teammates and competitors at Melwood.”
Henderson joined Liverpool from Sunderland at the age of 21 and, after struggling initially in the new surroundings, the Reds number 14 was taken under Gerrard’s wing, eventually taking the armband once his mentor departed for the MLS.
“As a young player at Liverpool, this approach made a massive impact on me,” Henderson added.
“I saw the way Steven conducted himself, motivated himself and prepared himself and the influence it had was huge.
“No corners could be cut and no stones were to be left unturned – if there was anything that could be done to improve yourself as a player or help Liverpool as a team you had to do it. Nothing else was acceptable."
