Reds-daft Routledge laments exit of yet another hero days after Gerrard blow
JON ROUTLEDGE was already in no mood to accept the slow and sorrowful countdown to saying a tearful goodbye to his Anfield hero Steven Gerrard. The Hamilton midfielder and Liverpool fanatic is consumed with dread by the prospect and admits he will be an emotional wreck come May.
Further farewells, at his own workplace, were never going to be welcome for Routledge at this sensitive time. So with Alex Neil’s inspired steering of this remarkable campaign coming to an abrupt conclusion thanks to the courting by Norwich City, Routledge is dealing with mounting football misery both personally and professionally.
Fresh from watching Gerrard hauling Liverpool past AFC Wimbledon, the 25-year-old now steps out on this week’s Monday night football stage with Accies as they seek to stay ahead of Dundee United in the unlikely race for European places — minus their manager.
Routledge is convinced they can remain high in the Premiership all the way to the end of the season if they retain the services of their in-demand stars like 12-goal Tony Andreu, Celtic target Stephen Hendrie and Ali Crawford. However, a new fear has dawned — that the threat to keeping that happy camp together could now come from Norwich’s new boss.
‘If he thinks a couple of our lads could do a good job then I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t come back up for them,’ said Routledge. ‘We will just need to wait and see.
‘This is the best squad we’ve had here. Tony is the most high profile because he’s the top scorer in the league but there are others doing really well.
‘Hopefully we can get through the window with the squad together, too, and have a good finish to the season. Then lads might get even bigger moves.
‘It’s just great to be around the club these days and I was just a bit frustrated not playing as many games for the manager as I’d have liked because of injury.
‘He’s a top gaffer and clubs had to be looking at him after two seasons here. He’s had such a good start to his managerial career. The big advantage for him was that all the lads knew and respected him anyway. He was inspirational.’
The merry mauling Routledge has received in the wake of the Gerrard news continues to provide light-hearted relief in a dressing room reeling from the departure of the man who engineered play-off promotion then powered Hamilton to the top of the Premiership table.
‘I’ve had a hard week, haven’t I?’ added Routledge. ‘It’s been emotional. You are not exactly surprised about the manager because of the results we’ve been having.
‘It was still a shock that it all happened so suddenly. It would have been great to have him until the end of the season but we don’t want to hold him back from bigger and better things.
‘I’m sure he’ll do a great job and maybe even get them up to the Premiership.’ With January transfer-window speculation in full swing now, there is more reason for Routledge to avert his eyes and ears from football news bulletins and sports pages as Gerrard’s departure for Major League Soccer moves closer and Neil begins the task of taking Norwich back into the promotion picture.
If Routledge wasn’t so busy helping Hamilton stay in contention at the top of the table, then he’d be a home and away Liverpool punter.
An Anfield academy prospect as a teenager, Routledge counted Crystal Palace defender Martin Kelly and Bolton captain Jay Spearing among his team-mates before he left for Wigan Athletic at 17.
But the club has never left his heart and the shock news of Gerrard exiting at the end of this season for LA Galaxy is difficult for the midfielder to digest.
‘Even my dad was saying he was crying, watching the videos of Gerrard talking about leaving.’ he said. ‘Gutted. It is too early for him to be leaving, but it is his decision, isn’t it?
‘I love him. He was my idol. We used to play games at Anfield at the end of the season and he’d be there. So that was great for me growing up.
‘I was at Istanbul for the Champions League Final and at games on the way that year — Monaco, Chelsea.
‘I’ve been to the cup finals when he’s pulled us through to win, including in the West Ham end at Wembley in 2006 when he scored that volley.
‘I don’t think you can replace him.’