Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has revealed how he assured the mother of Jordan Henderson that he would prove himself at Liverpool.

It wasn't always certain that Henderson would be a hit on Merseyside, and he came very close to leaving for Fulham in 2012.

"It was an opportunity I didn't want and I didn't like," Henderson told The Guardian. "I still felt I had an awful lot to give.

"But I was in a very dark place at that time."

Around the time of Henderson's rough patch, his mother Liz revealed her concerns for her son to then Reds captain Gerrard, who was quick to put her mind at rest.

“She was worried for her boy," Gerrard said. “He was a little lost. The move was initially too big for him."

Despite Henderson's struggles to deal with the pressures of his £20million move from Sunderland, Gerrard was convinced Liverpool had signed a player capable of filling his shoes when he eventually moved on.

“I know he'll be fine," Gerrard told her, before insisting his belief that Henderson would be a crucial part of the Liverpool team in the years to come."

Asked whether he had the same confidence in his own abilities as Gerrard had in him, Henderson replied: "I don't think you ever know what's going to happen.

"When I first signed I was very young and I knew it was going to be tough.

"But I always wanted to test myself and I knew, by going to Liverpool, I would become better.

"But it took a little time."