In Midst of Title Run, Gerrard "Happy As I've Ever Been"

It hasn't been entirely smooth sailing for Steven Gerrard this year as he finds a way to adapt to a new role in the twilight of his career, but Liverpool's captain has emerged at the business end of the season in incredible form and with an even more incredible drive spurring him on towards the ultimate prize. Few players deserve a season like the one Gerrard and Liverpool are having, and even fewer players have a chance to write themselves into what could be one of the greatest stories of the Premier League era.

With three games left in the season, that's exactly where Gerrard finds himself.

In an exceptionally fantastic, wide-ranging interview with Jason Burt of The Telegraph, Gerrard spoke at length about his career, his hopes for Brendan Rodgers as manager, his work with the great Dr. Steve Peters, and all sorts of other heart-string-tugging topics. It's absolutely worth a read if you haven't yet run out of tears to shed over Captain Fantastic, but the highlights are about what this season means to Gerrard.

"I'm as happy as I have ever been at the moment," Gerrard revealed. "I'm skipping into work and I love this manager and the coaching staff and I adore my team-mates. I love it and I love being where I am.

"I've got to treat this like it's the one shot. Just because this league is so strong and there are no guarantees next year. I look at Manchester United where they have dominated for so many years, they win the league last year and then have a season where things change. And things do change very quickly in football. It would be a huge mistake for me to sit here and say, 'If it doesn’t happen now it might happen next year'."

For all the optimism about this season being the start of a new era for Liverpool, it's an optimism that doesn't change anything about what needs to be done in the next two weeks. Gerrard has personally never been closer to winning the league, and thinks it's an even larger travesty that his club have not managed to secure a title since before the formation of the Premier League.

Few fairy tales would end better than Gerrard's if he were the one to lead his club to the title. The captain's one regret is that his fellow Scouser Jamie Carragher isn't there at his side to help lead the charge, but a near-perfect ending to the season sans Carra will taste almost as sweet. For now, Gerrard needs to capitalize on the moment before it passes.

"You just hang on to that one small glimmer of hope that one day you can have one small chance, one final go before you hang your boots up," Gerrard said. "And it's here."