Gerrard stunned to be named Football Writers' Player of the Year.

London, May 14 (ANI): Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard, 28, pipped Manchester United's Ryan Giggs by 10 votes to pick up the Football Writers' Association award.

Gerrard, who takes the honour back to Anfield for the first time since John Barnes in 1990, said: "I'm delighted but surprised.

"When you look at the quality of the players there are in this league, it's a great privilege. It's not just the Man United players, when you look at what Chelsea and Arsenal and the other teams have got, they all have fantastic players throughout their squads now. The quality gets better and better each year so to win this award is a great achievement for myself," The Sun quoted him, as saying.

But the Reds talisman confessed he was in two minds whether to even answer his phone when it rang on Tuesday night, as he feared it could be bad news.

Liverpool media chief Ian Cotton was the man ringing and Gerrard revealed: "When I got the call I was debating whether or not to take it. I thought I might have been in the papers for the wrong reasons! But when I did take the call and he delivered the good news it was a great feeling." (ANI)