Gerrard not ready for Reds return

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has rejected reports skipper Steven Gerrard will be fit for Saturday’s trip to Newcastle.

Gerrard tore his hamstring in England’s 2-1 friendly loss to France on November 17 and had hoped to be fit for the St James’ Park clash.

But a tweak in his scar tissue just over a week ago was an unwanted setback for the captain, with Liverpool setting their home clash with Fulham on December 18 as the more realistic return date.

After word spread that Gerrard may be involved on Saturday, Hodgson firmly denied that his captain would be in action.

“I don’t know where those stories came from the Gerrard would be fit for Newcastle we’ve never put that story out,” Hodgson said.

“We’ve always been thinking more that we hope he will be fit to face Fulham the following week. It would have been much too early to consider him for Newcastle but he is making very good progress.”

“We’re happy with his progress but it’s just that Newcastle was an unrealistic target.”

The former Fulham boss admitted that new manager Alan Pardew may inspire Newcastle but insisted he wasn’t concerned on the goings-on at St James’ Park.

“When a club changes manager sometimes that does produce an effect where they do play a lot better maybe than they do running up to it,” he said.

“I have no effect whatsoever on Newcastle United Football Club, what they do, how they play, how they run their business. My sole concern is Liverpool.”

Liverpool have recently been linked with Ronaldinho and Luis Suarez but Hodgson said he had ‘never even thought about’ the pair and while admitted he considered signing Aston Villa’s Ashley Young, he said it was still very different to actually sign a player.

Hodgson also spoke about Liverpool’s impressive fight-back from a horror form slump which saw them win just one of their first eight Premier League matches and slip as low as 19th.

“You know when you are bottom after seven games or next to bottom you have given yourself an enormous handicap,” Hodgson said.

“I was hoping that by the turn around (halfway point of season) we’d at least be in the top half of the table, we are at the moment.”