Just over three months ago Liverpool's Jamie Carragher broke his leg. This week, ahead of schedule, Jamie returned to action with a game against a Wrexham side. In ANOTHER givemefootball EXCLUSIVE Brian Beard spoke to Jamie about his playing return and the recent scathing criticism of manager Gerard Houllier.
Q:HOW DID THINGS GO IN THE GAME AGAINST WREXHAM?
A:It went very well, I got about 80 minutes of action. I didn't play on for the last ten minutes in case I picked up any kind of slight injury but the time I did have went well and was a good work-out as Wrexham brought a fit, young side and were very aggressive so it was a good game really.
Q:WAS IT EXACTLY THE KIND OF WORK-OUT YOU WANTED OR DID YOU HAVE TO PLAY WITHIN YOURSELF, AS IS NORMAL IN THOSE KINDS OF GAMES?
A:No, that's exactly the point of them. You try and not play within yourself. Training games aren't maybe as physical, because you don't want teammates to injure each other. But in the kind of game I had against Wrexham you try and treat it as a proper Premier League game. It's not going to be that but as close as possible and I think that's what we achieved by playing that game.
Q:ONE QUESTION I USUALLY ASK A PLAYER WHO IS RETURNING FROM INJURY, PARTICULARLY A BROKEN LEG, IS, WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND AFTER THE FIRST CRUNCHING TACKLE?
A:It hasn't been too bad to be honest. I was worried at first because that is part of my game so if that went out of my game it would be a big loss but it hasn't been too bad in training, going in for challenges. I had no nerves going in for challenges so it's been quite good on that front.
Q:HOW HARD WAS THE REHAB BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO HAVE GONE QUITE SMOOTHLY FOR YOU?
A:It went well. We originally thought it was going to take 12 weeks but it went so well it was only ten weeks so I have gained an extra two weeks training, so that has helped. I am just fortunate that it's healed well.
Q:YOU`VE BEEN OUT OF THE TEAM, OBVIOUSLY, BUT YOU MUST BE AWARE OF ALL THE CRITICISM THAT'S BEEN HEAPED ON THE MANAGER. HOW HAVE THE PLAYERS REACTED TO THE CRITICISM OF GERARD HOULLIER?
A:I think 95 per cent of the squad has been brought in by the manager and I think it's up to them to show they are grateful that he has brought them to such a good club and do it on the pitch. Obviously the manager gets stick, rightly or wrongly, but that's just the way football is.
Q:AT THE END OF THE DAY PLAYERS DON'T INTENTIONALLY PLAY BADLY, DO THEY?
A:Of course not but I think, when you play for Liverpool, its alright people saying you give 100 per cent, that's all we can ask but playing for Liverpool requires certain standards from your performance each week, not just the effort. So I think it's up to the players that they produce consistent performances. Everyone tries but when you go out to play for Liverpool I think there's a certain requirement of play that should be delivered each week.
