Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has insisted that he is returning to his best form as the second half of the Premier League season gets underway.

The England skipper has admitted that his personal campaign so far has been "mixed" but believes that he can contribute with more goals for the remainder of the season.

"I think my performances are getting closer to where I want them to be so if I can add goals to those performances then maybe people will start saying the old Steven Gerrard is back," Gerrard told the club's official magazine.

"I don't think the manager's asked me to do anything different in terms of the way he wants to me to perform but because of certain injuries, situations that have happened to the team and formations that we've played, I've naturally played a little bit deeper.

"I've maybe gone into protection mode rather than playing the old Steven Gerrard way with the shackles off and going for the jugular."

Meanwhile, Gerrard and his teammates are preparing to face arch rivals Manchester United this Sunday.