Stevie: I know how Flanno felt

Steven Gerrard knows exactly how Jon Flanagan felt after his back-pass went straight into the path of Junior Hoilett on Tuesday night because the Liverpool skipper has been in the same position himself. Hoilett seized onto Flanagan's pass just before the Blackburn man was felled by deputising 'keeper Alexander Doni, resulting in the Brazilian being issued with a straight red card. And Gerrard insists that while Flanagan might be down-hearted, the young full-back has the character and the determination to bounce back with the complete support of his teammates. "He's probably been feeling how I was after I played a few bad back-passes," said Gerrard. "I played one in the Euros when I assisted Thierry Henry and I did it a couple of times in the Premier League as well. "He's naturally going to be down because the game against Blackburn didn't go his way but he's done fantastically for us since he's come in. He played really well and has been one of our better players. "He's a strong lad and a good character and we'll help him get over Tuesday and learn from it because I certainly learnt from the mistakes that I made. "When I was Jon's age, I used to look up to the older lads and try and learn from them. If he's doing that to the likes of myself, Jamie, Pepe, Dirk then that's what we're here for - to help the young lads as well." Meanwhile, Gerrard refused to play down the significance of the weekend's all-Merseyside showpiece clash. The captain was eight years old when the Reds last met the Blues at Wembley and 23 years on, the lifelong Liverpool fan knows just what the trip to Wembley means to the fans of both sides. "This is not only a semi-final," insisted Gerrard. "It's a semi against Everton and for everyone in the city and at the club it's massive. I'm not going to play it down here. It's a massive game and it could change our season for the best. "It will be a really special occasion. Leading the team out at Wembley is very big for me personally but it's not about me on Saturday, it's about Liverpool versus Everton. "Everyone's looking forward to it."