Gerrard's special day

Steven Gerrard has told TheFA.com how he happily chatted about football with the Queen yesterday as he was handed an MBE.

The Liverpool midfielder, 26, received his award for services to football at Buckingham Palace in the morning before rushing back to train with the rest of the England squad at Wembley.

And it proved to be one of the most memorable days of his life.

"It's not every day you receive an MBE and play at Wembley, is it?" he told us.

"I knew the date when I was going to be receiving my MBE because I had to reply to the letter - and then obviously this get-together fell in that time. So I had to speak to Steve McClaren and make sure it was all right to go and receive it.

"We had to be at the Palace at 10 o’clock in the morning, someone tells you what the proceedings are and then it all happens quite quickly. You get briefed on what you need to say and what you need to do.

"I was just a little bit nervous I would say the wrong thing. But it all went quite smoothly and once I received the medal I felt more relaxed.

"I had a conversation with the Queen - it was mostly about football. She wished me all the best for the forthcoming internationals and just told me to keep doing what I've been doing."

Gerrard plans to keep the honour alongside his burgeoning collection of football medals, and right now he couldn't be more proud.

He added: "The actual medal is quality. I didn't really know what we were going to get but it's a special medal and one that I’'ll treasure.

"I think I will put it with my football medals because this achievement has come through football and obviously I wouldn’t have achieved it without great help from my teammates, coaching staff, friends and family who have been there through the highs and lows with me."

Gerrard talked about his MBE to his England teammates when he got back to the hotel and he admits he got a bit of a ribbing from some of them.

"There has been a bit of mickey-taking in the squad and when I got back to the hotel for a team meeting the staff had a special welcome for me," he revealed.

"They were all knighting me when I walked in! It was a special day and it's been really exciting for me. I just hope we can get the right result at the weekend to complete a special week."

Not surprisingly, Gerrard says his day was made all the more memorable because he became one of the first players to play at the rebuilt Wembley, training there with the rest of the England squad before jetting off to Israel today for a crucial Euro 2008 qualifier.

He added: "The stadium is magnificent. We were all excited going down there and the boys are looking forward now to playing there for real.

"We do play in big grounds across the world but this is Wembley and it’s special. All the players grew up watching special games there and think it will be great to be part of matches in the new stadium."