The manager told the club’s official website “I sat down with him this morning and had a very good talk with him about the situation and I was also able to speak at length with our club lawyer,”

“Steven explained to me what had happened and I told him he has my full support and backing, along with everyone else at the football club,”

The manager continued to say “He’s trained with the other lads this (Wednesday) morning after a couple of days off for the squad and is keen now to focus solely on his football. We’ve worked very hard to get into the position we’re in going through to the New Year and all of us are determined to keep that progress going.”

Gerard feels confident after being freed from police custody on bail and being allowed to play the upcoming game. Benitez pledged his support to the captain of the team saying “We’ll do whatever we can to support Steven in the weeks ahead, but we’re now concentrating on our preparation for the FA Cup game at Preston this weekend.”

28 year old Gerard was amongst the three men that were arrested by the police at 2:30 am in the Lounge Inn restaurant at Southport where the incident took place. The disc jockey that was employed at the venue had to be taken to the hospital after suffering from facial injuries during the brawl.

Apparently the dispute began when Gerard insisted the DJ to play a song of his choice. From amongst the eyewitness reports one stated the DJ “pushed Gerard in the chest, and almost instinctively Gerard hit back with his elbow”.

The Liverpool captain along with the two others arrested with him are set to appear before the North Sefton Magistrate’s Court on January 23rd 2009. The unlikely incident took place on the night when Liverpool managed to crush New Castle in a 5-1 victory. Gerard had scored two goals during the match. The other two individuals charged along with the captain are fellow team mates Ian Smith and John Doran.