Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has pleaded with manager Brendan Rodgers to renew his current contract, which is due to expire in 18 months’ time.

The Reds midfielder made just 18 Premier League appearances last term, as a number of niggling injuries kept him out of Kenny Dalglish’s team.

However, after starting all six of the Merseyside club’s league games so far this season, the 32-year-old insists that he is as fit as ever and wants to continue his career for as long as possible.

“I am contracted for another 18 months or so,” he told Sky Sports News. “I am really happy. I am enjoying my football. I feel physically strong.

“I want to go on for as long as I can. I love playing for the club. I am captain. I am living the dream. I do not want that to end.

“Hopefully I can play and contribute in this new regime under Brendan Rodgers, because it is very exciting.”

Liverpool face Udinese in the Europa League on Thursday and the Reds star hopes that his side can build on the momentum created by their 5-2 win over Norwich City on Saturday.

“It gives you huge confidence and belief when moving into the next games,” he continued.

“But we knew, as players, if we kept listening to the manager and listening to the messages he was putting across, the first win was only round the corner.

“It should have come against Manchester United the week before. It should have come against Manchester City three or four weeks ago.

“If we keep playing the way we are playing and keep showing the same effort and determination, there will be many more wins just around the corner.”

Brendan Rodgers has heaped praise on midfielder Nuri Sahin following Liverpool’s 5-2 victory over Norwich City on Saturday.

The 24-year-old, who joined the Reds on a season-long loan from Real Madrid in the summer, has had a bright start to his Anfield career – scoring three goals in four appearances in all competitions.

And his manager Rodgers paid tribute to the Turkey international’s performances and believes he has settled in well at Liverpool after being afforded the chance to impress.

“[Sahin] is a master technician, he’s hungry and he wants to prove himself,” Rodgers told reporters.

“Nuri was a wonderful player at a young age in Germany and did wonderfully well for Borussia Dortmund.

“He was German player of the year before he moved to Real Madrid.

“He just found it hard to play through injury and was competing with in-form players like Khedira, Alonso and Diarra.”

Sahin’s promising start at Liverpool does not come as a surprise to his manager however, and Rodgers is happy that the midfielder is showing the ability which was apparent when he first broke onto the scene in Germany.

“I knew him when he was a young player,” Rodgers added. “But, of course, affordability and availability are two key things when you are a manager.

“He was a young player who I thought would fit in once he got up to speed and now he is starting to get up to speed.

“He was captain of Dortmund at a very young age so he has natural leadership qualities. He has settled in very well.”

Steven Gerrard’s analysis of his own chances of winning the Premier League with Liverpool was summed up in five words. It will be a miracle.

The Premier League title is the only domestic honour which has eluded the 32-year-old, who is now entering the final years of his career at Anfield which also boasts triumphs in the Uefa Cup and Champions League during his time on Merseyside.

But, with the level of competition in the top flight increasing by the season, Gerrard admits his ambition of being crowned a Premier League champion may remain unfulfilled.

“It will be a miracle if I now realise my dream of winning the title with Liverpool,” Gerrard wrote in his recently published autobiography, My Liverpool Story.

“I say that because of my age and where we finished in the league the past couple of years. And also the situation we’re in with the rivalries.

“There’s not just United and Arsenal now but City, Chelsea and Tottenham. Newcastle coming as well. The Premier League has become a lot more difficult to win for everyone.”