Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have left the rest of the Liverpool squad in no doubt what a victory over Everton on Saturday would mean.
Supporters have been stopping him in the street to talk about FA Cup
Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have left the rest of the Liverpool squad in no doubt what a victory over rivals Everton on Saturday would mean according to Stewart Downing.
The England winger has been given a crash course on Merseyside bragging rights by the two local heroes ahead of their FA Cup semi-final clash.
Cup fever gripped the city as soon as the two famous old teams were drawn out of the hat to face each other - although Everton had to overcome a tricky replay at Sunderland first.
And Downing, who joined from Aston Villa at the start of the season, admits he cannot walk down the street without people telling him how much it would mean to them to beat Everton.
Downing told
Liverpoolfc.tv: "Obviously Stevie , Carra and Jay Spearing, people like that, have been saying, 'Come on, we have to beat these'.
Bragging rights
"They've been on at us. You can understand that. I've played in semi-finals and against local teams when I've been at other clubs, and people were the same there.
"You can sense it, the atmosphere - seeing the fans and the kids hanging about. They're all stopping you and asking questions about the semi-final.
"It's going to be a massive game and Liverpool will be like a ghost town on the day.
"It's bragging rights. I sometimes hear (from fans), 'As long as we finish above Everton in the league, everything's fine'. That just shows. If you've grown up with it as a young kid it's massive. It could make their week, it could make their year.
"We know what's at stake but I'm confident we can get a result."
