SoccerRafael Benitez spoke of keeping Steven Gerrard at Liverpool for the next decade last night. "I'm confident he'll be with us for another 10 years," said the Spaniard. But, should the manager's employers fail to resolve long-standing issues in the boardroom, the England midfielder may not be a Liverpool player in 10 months' time.

Whether Gerrard intended it, his thinly veiled warning over his own future on Tuesday - coupled with the half-volley with which he propelled Liverpool into the knockout phase of the Champions League some 24 hours later - has switched the focus off the team and back on to the club's hierarchy.

Liverpool enter this afternoon's 200th Merseyside derby at Goodison Park (12.45, Prem Plus) aware that either they move on off the pitch or Gerrard will reluctantly do so on it.

That prospect alone should be enough to prompt action, though in Liverpool's case there is no guarantee. It is almost a year since a cantankerous annual general meeting left the chairman David Moores admitting the time had possibly come for him to consider his future and 10 days ago the same hollow threat was issued from the same speaker on the top table while the man who would be king, the third largest shareholder Steve Morgan, struggled to contain his frustration in the front row of the audience.

In the interim little has changed, other than the club's £3.6 million profit nose-diving to a £21.9 million loss in the wake of last season's absence from the Champions League and the managerial changes of the summer.

Directors have spent hours in ultimately fruitless investment talks with the Thai prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra. They have been plagued by unwelcome offers from the Hollywood-based film producer Mike Jefferies and his L4 group. Most recently, a foreign-based third party has emerged with a potential package currently being scrutinised.

"It warrants further examination," said Parry. "There is sufficient evidence to think it might be a better offer (than Morgan's) and we want to give it due consideration."

Moores must hope there is more substance to this mystery group's interest because it is hard to see how Liverpool can hope to compete in the Premiership title race in the near future, and so retain the likes of Gerrard, unless resolution is reached on an investment package in the next few weeks.

All the while Morgan hammers relentlessly at the door. The former building tycoon's latest proposal - a £70 million investment package, with roughly half of that earmarked for team rebuilding - continues to nag at the back of Moores' mind. His antipathy towards his club's persistent suitor is of less significance than his assertion the bid, which would ultimately see Morgan assume control, seriously undervalues the club. The chairman will consider diluting his 51.6 per cent shareholding only at the right price and is entitled to dismiss an offer he deems derisory.

All of which leaves Liverpool in limbo and Gerrard's future in doubt. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho may have dead-batted the Gerrard issue yesterday but it is football's worst kept secret that Roman Abramovich and his adviser, the agent Pini Zahavi, are still confident of luring the 24-year-old to Stamford Bridge next summer. The only factor which might yet deflect that grim scenario for Liverpudlians is if the Anfield board clicks into action.

In the circumstances it is appropriate that a tumultuous week should culminate in a Merseyside derby. These are hugely traditional occasions, a throwback to the 1980s when this city was the hub around which English football revolved. This year Everton have opened up a nine-point advantage over the local rivals. "But it's a long race and we are nearer the start than the finish," said Benitez. "I want to see what happens in the end." In Liverpool's and Gerrard's case, so does everyone.