JUDGING by the remarkable outpouring of grief witnessed at Anfield on Saturday, Steven Gerrard is by some distance the greatest footballer the world has ever seen.
If this is indeed the case then Celtic captain Scott Brown would surely consider himself more than a little flattered to be compared to the departing Liverpool legend by someone who has trained with both.
Gary Mackay-Steven spent two years on Merseyside having moved there when he was 16. He will never forget Gerrard's attitude towards him, a young, naive guy from Thurso, and how good he was in training. Every single day.
Perhaps the reaction to a 34-year-old leaving a club to join another was a smidgeon over the top. However, what cannot be argued is the departing Liverpool captain was some player in his day, arguably bettered only by our own Kenny Dalglish at that particular club.
It wasn't just his skill on the ball but the way he almost literally dragged his team-mates along with him in times of trouble.
Brown, a fellow No.8, doesn't have an Istanbul or a cup final named after him, and yet Mackay-Steven sees an obvious comparison between his first skipper and his present one. You get the feeling there is no greater compliment he could pay to anyone.
"Gerrard is the best player I have ever seen up close or trained with. He's an example, much like Scott Brown is here," said Mackay-Steven. "They are both great captains who would look after young players, help them settle into the team and set an example on and off the park.
"Gerrard was great with me the few times I trained with the first-team squad down there. His technical skill spoke for itself and I think what he's done in his career shows he's one of the best players ever.
"The biggest message he gave to me was just work hard and realise how lucky you are to be in a position to represent such a big club. He made it clear that you need to grab every chance and give everything you have every day because it's a great privilege to play there.
"On the training ground he was head and shoulders above everyone else and he was always the one driving the rest of the team on, just like Scott.
"I think there's a lot of similarities with Scott and Gerrard. Scott's an example to the rest too, he can really drive everyone and he demands the best from everyone every single day on the pitch. He does it himself day in, day out. He sets such high standards and keeps to them."
There will be some who would chortle at the idea of even mentioning these two in the same sentence. True, Brown is not at the level of Gerrard, but his influence on Celtic is just as significant.
He will never win over everyone - not that Brown is going to care about that - and one of the reasons is his reputation as someone who doesn't take life all that seriously. As if that's a bad thing.
"That other side of him is great, the winds up and jokes - you need that in a dressing room and Scott has it in abundance," said Mackay-Steven. "But when the time comes to pull the boots on and you really need to work hard, he's the first one out there making sure everyone meets the same standard he sets and it's great."
Mackay-Steven is an intriguing character. He is thoughtful, well spoken and clearly no fool. He takes his football incredibly seriously, as you would expect, although he does go the extra mile by making sure those skills are honed in his supposed off time.
"I was in Kelvingrove Park a couple of weeks ago playing keepy-uppies on my own," he revealed. "It was a bit later in the afternoon when it's a little quieter and I just put a hat on so no one recognised me. Or at least I don't think anyone saw me, I was too busy running about enjoying myself.
"It's something I've always enjoyed doing. Obviously it benefits my job to be working on my touch and skills but that's not the reason I do it. I do it because I enjoy it and I think probably every footballer would say the same - that it's more fun with a ball at your feet than just walking around.
"I've never had any random guys wanting to join in for a game or looking for a pass. Although, I must say I'm tempted whenever I see kids playing with a ball in the park to go over and join in their kick about. That side of me will never change, I just love football."
Meanwhile, yesterday signed a five-year deal with Dafabet that will see them become the club's official international betting partner.
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