Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has backed his captain Steven Gerrard for this season's PFA Player of the Year award.

Benitez told Liverpoolfc.tv: "Yes. If he can continue playing at this level then why not?

"For me Stevie is one of the best players in the world. To say one is the best above anyone else is difficult because there are a lot of quality players about, but he is one of the best. That is clear. He is more mature, he is still learning and tactically he is improving. He can still play better because he has the potential.

"He has quality and always tries to improve in every training session. That is very positive. You know when he is on the pitch you have more options to win. I was tempted on Sunday to keep Steven on because he could have scored more goals after his hat-trick but I wanted to give some minutes to another player."

Benitez also believes his role playing just off Fernando Torres has seen his skipper's game rise to even greater heights.

"Changing his position and seeing him play in a different role, I think he has improved a lot. He scored 23 goals one year and now he has 21 and can score more before the end of this season, so that is very positive for the team and also for him.

"When Gerrard and Torres are together for us the rest of the team has more confidence. It's good for the rest of the players as they get a lot of confidence when we have those two together on the pitch."