AUTHOR: JAMIE CARRAGHER

The nerves that will grip me on Saturday will be just as intense as they were on October 20 1984 when, as a six-year-old, I first experienced the Merseyside derby.

I went to Anfield that day as an Evertonian and had my dreams made when Graeme Sharp scored a goal that went down in folklore, a 25-yard volley that flew past Bruce Grobbelaar. I can still hear John Motson's commentary from Match of the Day.

Everton meant everything to me when I was growing up, so the change from being a Blue to becoming Red wasn't easy.

The transition started when I went full-time at Anfield when I was 16. It took time but now there should be no question of my loyalties. I'm Liverpool to the core.

So I will be sitting in the away end for the first time on Saturday, hoping I will leave the stadium as ecstatic as I did at Anfield 29 years ago. I can't wait for the experience but it is going to be strange, knowing that I can't have an impact on the final score.

In some respect, I might even be more nervous.During my playing career no match meant more than the one across Stanley Park.

I loved playing at Goodison. The proximity of the crowd, the tightness of the ground, the noise; walking up the tunnel when the theme from  Z-Cars was playing made it feel like you were entering the lion's den. The fear of losing there would torment me during the build-up.

Experience made no difference to my state of mind. The desolation of defeat was unbearable. A 3-0 defeat in September 2006 was the worst I have ever felt after a game. I wasn't fit but kidded myself I was OK. I let everyone down.

But winning was glorious and I'm proud of my record of nine victories from 13 trips to Goodison in the Premier League.

Steven Gerrard and I would go round Melwood in the days beforehand, reminding the other players what was at stake. We understood the magnitude of the occasion. Liverpool had better players than Everton during the 1990s but they were frequently bullied at Goodison, especially by Joe Royle's Dogs of War.

Once we started matching their desire and work rate, we changed the balance.

My feelings on the importance of the Merseyside derby will never change but the way this contest is viewed nationally certainly has.

When I first started going to the game it was the biggest fixture in the country. Between 1982 and 1988 the league title never left our city.If you had said back then the two clubs would only add one more Championship in the next 25 years, no bookmaker would have taken a bet on it but that is the case.

Liverpool as a city exists to win trophies. Between the two clubs they have amassed 83 major honours; more than Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham combined - they have 82 - and Manchester has collected 77.

The rivalry between us should never diminish but we should also want to remain as the country's leading football city.

There are two young, hungry managers in charge now and they need all the assistance from their boards they can get if they are to uphold the tradition.

Brendan Rodgers is in his second year at Anfield and is really beginning to stamp his ideas on the team. Last season he travelled to Goodison with his side in 13th place having taken nine points from nine games; this time three points will put Liverpool top of the pile. His ideas for the way he sees football being played are similar to those of Roberto Martinez.

Source: Daily Mail