Steven Gerrard has reflected on what he regards a 'perfect 24 hours' in his illustrious Liverpool career.
The Reds captain tipped the balance of the Carling Cup semi-final with Manchester City in his side's favour with a 13th-minute penalty during last night's first leg at the Etihad Stadium.
Today, the veteran midfielder has committed his future to Anfield once more after signing a fresh long-term contract which will see him become a club ambassador following retirement.
Gerrard endured an injury-ravaged 2011 but signs appear positive as he completed two consecutive 90-minute games in the past week in addition to three substitute appearances.
And the 31-year-old is hoping that Liverpool can reach next month's final at Wembley to kickstart the good times for the red half of Merseyside in Kenny Dalglish's first full season.
He said: "I'm very happy. It's a very proud day for myself and my family.
"It comes on the back of a fantastic team performance last night when we got the result we were looking for. Hopefully we can finish the job off in two weeks time and take all of our magnificent fans down to Wembley for a day out.
"The contract extension coming the day after has been the icing on the cake so it has been a perfect 24 hours.
"This is the club I love and is the club I have supported since I was a young boy. I am living the dream as the captain of one of the biggest clubs in the world. I love coming to work every day and the experiences I have had since I was eight years of age and first signed for the club, I wouldn't change them for the world.
"To extend that and to hopefully have some more good times in a red shirt is what I want.
"There will be more highs and lows, there's no doubt about it as that's part and parcel of being a football player at a top club. The important thing is that you react well to the lows and experience more of the highs.
"I'm confident moving forward that the club is going in the right direction. We've got a fantastic team, we've got the right owners in place and the right team behind our team, so I'm really confident we'll have more good experiences in the future."
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