Gerrard: Let's bring it home

The Reds will take on Cardiff City at Wembley on Sunday aiming to secure a first trophy since the dramatic FA Cup success over West Ham in 2006.

And with Liverpool also endeavoring to go all the way in the FA Cup this season and secure a top-four finish, Gerrard is adamant lifting the Carling Cup can provide Kenny Dalglish's side with the momentum to achieve all of their goals in the remainder of the campaign.

He said: "Six years without a trophy for this football club isn't good enough. It's been too long and everyone knows that. It's time we delivered a trophy

"Everyone knows the club has been through some tough times but we're moving forward now.

"We're all desperate to bring success back. It's what we're working so hard to achieve.

"I'm hoping this is just the beginning for us. It would be stupid to win the Carling Cup and then rest on our laurels. This is an important cup for us but there are other big prizes we want to strive for.

"I honestly believe winning this cup will be the catalyst for a successful period for the club. It will certainly give us the belief and confidence to deliver more.

"That's what happened back in 2001. We picked up the League Cup and then went on win the treble. It gave us the confidence to go and win more trophies.  Momentum builds and it gives everyone a taste of success.

"If we win on Sunday this group of players will experience what it's like to walk around a stadium full of your supporters going wild. That buzz and the tingles that gives you drives you on to want more.

"We're still in the FA Cup and challenging for a top-four place in the league. There's no doubt winning the Carling Cup would have a really positive affect on us for the rest of this season. It would drive us on to achieve more."

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Sunday's Carling Cup final against Cardiff City will provide Gerrard with a chance to realise another of his boyhood dreams with Liverpool.

The 31-year-old will lead out the Reds out at Wembley aiming to lift the fifth major domestic trophy of his career so far.

Gerrard helped Liverpool to glory in the 2001 and 2003 League Cup finals, as well as the 2001 and 2006 FA Cups, but all of those successes were achieved at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium while England's national stadium was undergoing renovation.

Sunday will present the captain with an opportunity to join the likes of Anfield legends Ron Yeats, Emlyn Hughes, Alan Hansen, Ronnie Whelan and Ian Rush in lifting silverware at Wembley - and if he's able to do so, it will be the realisation of a scenario he played out many times as a youngster.

"Every time I played for Liverpool at Cardiff and led the team out there, there was a bit of me thinking 'if only this was Wembley'," Gerrard said.

"Don't get me wrong, we had some great days in Cardiff and I've got some fantastic memories of playing at the Millennium Stadium.  But I'd have preferred to have won those trophies at Wembley.

"When growing up as a kid, I dreamed about playing in cup finals at Wembley.  Then when I became captain of Liverpool, I dreamed about leading the team out there."

Sunday's Carling Cup final won't be the first time Gerrard has experienced Wembley having figured for England at the venue.

Indeed, the midfielder made his international debut at the old Wembley - but this weekend will be the first time he has ever taken Liverpool there.

"To finally get the chance to achieve that with Liverpool will be amazing," he said. "I've experienced both the old and the new Wembley and I can tell you it's a very special place.

"You walk out and are hit by the number of people there. It's new and it's modern but the buzz is just the same as it was.

"There's the drive up to it, up Wembley Way. Instead of the twin towers, there's now the massive arch.  It's a magnificent arena and one of the best I've ever played in."

The Carling Cup final represents Liverpool's first visit to Wembley since the 1996 FA Cup final.

At the age of 15, Gerrard was present that afternoon as the Reds slipped to a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United, though he was also on hand to witness a League Cup final victory over Bolton Wanderers a year earlier.

He recalled: "The club treated us and Steve Heighway, Hugh McAuley and Dave Shannon took all the young lads down on a coach.

"The result was disappointing but there was still a real buzz about going to the game as a supporter.

"I was also lucky enough to go to Wembley when we won the League Cup in '95 and Macca (Steve McManaman) was on fire.

"Before that, I remember watching the derby cup finals, the 3-1 and then the 3-2, on the box. They were great games. I'd be sat there watching and dreaming of one day playing on that pitch myself.

"Wembley cup finals are magnificent occasions. I've been there as a supporter and as a player. I know everyone is excited about Sunday and I can't wait to get back there.

"We just need to make sure we come away with the right result. As long as we get the right result it will be a day to cherish."

The clash with Cardiff will be the fourth League Cup final Gerrard has played in.

Having lifted the trophy in 2001 and 2003, he also experienced what it's like to collect a runners' up medal when he scored an own goal in a defeat to Chelsea in 2005.

"I've experienced both sides of it," he said. "The own goal I scored and losing to Chelsea in 2005 was one of the lowest days I've had as a footballer. Losing a cup final is a horrible feeling.

"I've won this cup twice and now I'm going for the hat-trick. That's my goal.

"I'll be doing everything I can on Sunday to ensure we come away from Wembley with that cup on our bus."