Jamie Carragher is on a mission to sign off his Liverpool FC career with victory against Queens Park Rangers on Sunday - as he reveals his only regret is that he won't have Steven Gerrard alongside him at Anfield.

The ECHO understands that both teams will form a guard of honour for Carragher before kick-off, while a mosaic on the Kop will pay tribute to the long-serving defender. There will also be a special presentation made to him after the game.

Steven Gerrard, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, will be there to watch his close friend take his final bow.

"I'm not the emotional type. I don't get upset - that's not me," Carragher said.

"But it will be a big day as I've got a lot of great memories at Anfield. I'm just concentrating on the game itself and I want to make sure we finish the season with three points.

"I would have loved to have Stevie alongside me for this one. He would probably have let me be captain anyway.

"It's strange to think that I won't ever play alongside Stevie in a competitive game again. I suppose it's the end of an era in that sense."

This is the way Jamie Carragher wanted it to be. On Sunday the Kop legend will lead Liverpool out on an emotionally charged afternoon at Anfield. The visit of Queens Park Rangers will bring the curtain down not only on this season but on an illustrious career.

A capacity crowd will stand to applaud the contribution of one of the greatest servants in the club's 121-year history.

Carragher's 737th appearance for the Reds - a total only bettered by Ian Callaghan (857) - will be his last. The void created by his retirement will be vast as he adheres to the old adage of always leaving them wanting more.

Just a few months ago the Bootle-born defender feared the reality of his exit from Anfield would be very different.

Carragher had decided last summer that his 17th campaign of Premier League duty would be his swansong, but by the midway point of this season he was seriously considering packing in early.

He had started just one league game under Brendan Rodgers before Christmas and the prospect of continuing to warm the bench led him to reassess.

"I knew at the start of the season this would be my last season and I told the manager that," Carragher said.

"Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel were umming and ahhing about whether they would be staying but they both ended up signing new contracts so I knew I wasn't going to be first choice at that stage.

"The new manager was always going to go with them, but I saw the Carling Cup and the UEFA Cup as a way to get games in.

"But in the second half of the season I was worried. I was looking and thinking 'where am I going to get games here?'

"Around Christmas I spoke to the manager then about calling it a day. I knew he would go stronger in the UEFA Cup the further we went so I wouldn't have those games and we were out of the Carling Cup.

"We had a chat about it. Brendan has never tried to change my mind. He has always respected my thoughts as I know myself and my body better than anyone. I decided to keep going and I'm glad I did.

"After a couple of bad results, I think the manager felt 'you know what, he trains well every day and has done well in the cup games he's played so he deserves a go in the league'.

"I never ever caused a problem when I was substitute either under Kenny Dalglish last season or with Brendan.

"I never knocked on his door. The manager will tell you that. I just trained and played games when I was needed. I think the attitude I showed then and the way I conducted myself has got me the rewards of playing in recent months."

The recall Carragher craved arrived in mid-January when he was preferred to Skrtel for the visit of Norwich City and didn't put a foot wrong in a 5-0 triumph.

The 35-year-old has been first choice ever since - starting 14 of the past 15 league matches and only missing the trip to Southampton due to injury.

His consistency has rightly seen him showered with praise but he has never had any second thoughts since the day in February when he announced his retirement. Typically, even the timing of that saw him put the club first.

"After the Norwich game a lot was made about me being back in the side," he said.

"The manager had spoken about me being vocal at the back and people were questioning him about my future. They were saying 'well, his contract runs out in a few months so what are you going to do about it?'

"I didn't want that dragging on. I've seen that happen at other clubs - like the Frank Lampard situation at Chelsea.

"I didn't want it to look like there was a problem between me and the club. Whether they wanted to give me a new deal or not, or whether I wanted to stay on or not, I didn't want to get involved in all that.

"The deal with Sky Sports to do TV work was there and I didn't want it to leak out that I was joining them. I wanted to tell people myself.

"I was going to announce it but then I realised there were two big games coming up against Arsenal and Man City. I decided to wait until after them and it worked out perfectly for me. I did quite well in those two games and it was the right time for it to come out."

Sunday represents the end of an era for a proud one-club man.

Carragher was just nine years old when he first walked into Liverpool's School of Excellence.

He signed his first professional deal in 1996 and made his first team bow the following year.

Life after Liverpool will take some adjusting to but he is convinced the time is right to say farewell.

"People always talk about your career as if it only started when you became famous as a professional," he said.

"But my football career started when I was six years of age. It will leave a big void. I do love playing football and I'll certainly be looking for a five-aside team to join.

"I have always wanted to play for Liverpool and I feel very fortunate to have been able to do that throughout my entire career.

"I have never wanted to play for anyone else. I think it's really good when you look around the world and see players who have only played for one team. I've always thought that was really classy.

"When you are playing for a top club who have won lots of trophies why would you want to leave? There was never any reason to and to be honest no-one has ever made a big effort to sign me.

"How do you finish at Liverpool?

"There are two ways to go out.

"You either go out not playing, whether that's on the bench or in the stand, or you go out playing.

"I always wanted to go out playing but I feared I would go out on the bench or in the stand.

"I think I could play for another year but would I be playing every week? The manager will look to strengthen in my position this summer and I couldn't go back to being a sub again.

"I always wanted to go out with it being my decision, rather than the club saying we're not going to give you a new contract or they want to move you on or you're playing in the reserves.

"I intend to enjoy Sunday and go out on a high."

Source: Liverpool Echo