The importance of Wedesday's crucial Champions League showdown with Olympiacos to Liverpool and captain Gerrard has been underlined.
If Rafael Benitez's men beat the Greek league leaders 1-0 or by two clear goals, they will progress to the final 16 of the tournament.
That will give them another £5m in prize money for the Spanish coach to spend in next month's transfer window, and it will give their most prized asset the centre stage he craves.
Anything less, and that means being dumped into the Uefa Cup draw by the end of this week, will just add to the speculation and rumour about Gerrard's future.
The England star, who turned down Chelsea in the summer, would become an instant target for Europe's giants either in January, or more likely the end of the season.
He said: "This game is not about me and my future at Anfield. But I stated at the beginning of the season, and for a couple of years, that I want to play Champions League football, it's as simple as that.
"I have won the Uefa Cup as a player and I have a lot of respect for that competition but unfortunately it plays second best now to the Champions League.
"As a player and for the club, we do not want to settle for second best, we want to be involved in the Champions League."
Liverpool will have top scorer Milan Baros back after three weeks out with a hamstring injury to aid their attempts to acquire the victory and the winning margin they need.
But it is really all about Gerrard and whether Liverpool can give him the platform to play every season with Europe's elite.
He said: "Nobody is talking about the Uefa Cup at the moment and hopefully that will not be the case come Thursday morning. Everyone at the club wants to stay in the Champions League and we don't want to be thinking about the Uefa Cup draw at the end of the week.
"It's a massive week for the fans because these are the games they want to see, us in Europe and then playing Everton on Saturday. These are also the games you want to play in, but from now to the end of the season the games will just get bigger and bigger.
"There are a lot of things to play for and we want to have a successful season, so we must just concentrate on doing our best in every game.
"I wouldn't say it's win or bust but it is a massive game for me personally and everybody associated to Liverpool."
It is highly unlikely that Liverpool would ever consider selling Gerrard in January with so much else to play for, notably qualifying for next season's Champions League.
But the pressure will mount if they fail against Olympiacos and then finish lower than last season's fourth place finish in the Premiership.
Gerrard said: "It is not about me at the moment, it is about the whole team. Obviously I love playing in the Champions League but so do all the other boys, we have been talking about this game since we lost in Monaco and we all know how crucial it is for the club and for all of us individually.
"It is not about Steven Gerrard in January or the summer, it is about Liverpool beating Olympiacos and we are all looking forward to that.
"It is a massive game, this club belongs in the top competition, and that's the Champions League, and we want to stay in it as long as possible, so this is a cup final for us."
Is it me or is SG always making little threads about CL footie, if he's going to leave then go, if not stop it
I am really getting p.issed off with Stevie now, whys he saying all this, not one other player is making threats and opening there mouths about if they dont do this and that im leaving, why is he putting pressure on the team and the manager by talking to the press, If he wants to go then let him no player is bigger than LFC and never will be.
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