Interview with Michael Owen: Michael Owen did little to ease the fears of Liverpool fans yesterday when he admitted his former team-mate Steven Gerrard had shown great interest in Real Madrid amid reports the Spanish club are interested in making him their latest galactico writes Simon Talbot in Madrid.

Speculation in the Spanish media has suggested Madrid, who have been in desperate need of a defensive midfielder since the departure of Claude Makelele, are keeping tabs on Gerrard with an eye to a move next summer.

Owen claimed he had "not seen" the reports and insisted: "I wouldn't want to say anything that would annoy the Liverpool fans."

He did, though, admit: "It would be very nice for him to be linked with such a big club."

While he would not be drawn on the speculation, Owen did reveal his former team-mate has kept a keen interest since his own £8 million move in the summer.

"When I scored the first goal I picked up the phone and there were about 20 messages - and Steven was one of them," he added. "That was nice of him and shows that he is interested."

The England striker will retain his place in the side when Madrid face Getafe at the Bernabeu on Sunday night, having scored three times in as many games. He followed up his goalscoring Champions League debut against Dynamo Kiev 10 days ago with the only goal against Valencia in the league, and scored again in a 2-1 win over Leganes in the Copa del Rey.

"Joining Real was a massive challenge for me and lots of people doubted what I was doing and what the president was doing signing me, but I was always confident that I would be successful. Thankfully, I've shown I can play football a little bit," Owen said.

"It's nice to score three goals and I feel more part of the team now. It's difficult to say whether or not I have improved as I player, but I believe that I can offer more for the team still. This is just the start."

It is not just about Madrid, though, and Owen accepted the risks he was taking at international level by joining a side where Raul and Ronaldo stood before him in the pecking order. Indeed, he sought the advice of Sven-Goran Eriksson before moving to Spain.

"I spoke to Sven a couple of days before it was made public that I was signing for Real Madrid," he said. "He was very pleased for me; he said it would be a massive challenge and told me there were no problems on his side. I knew that if I wasn't playing regularly I couldn't expect to do so for England and I said that when I wasn't getting into the side here. At the moment everything's looking good, although I know that if I lose my place there will be questions again."

While Eriksson was not the only person Owen turned to for advice, the England striker insists he has had to find his footballing feet alone. "There is nothing like learning on the pitch. You have to cope with the changes in your own way," he said. "I spoke with a lot of players in England who had played abroad, people like Gary Lineker who was at Barcelona, and it is nice to have advice, but you need to experience it for yourself.

"I didn't really know what to expect from the dressing-room. If I had thought about it too much I might have got nervous because of all the big names there, but I didn't. They're all very nice and they've all helped me, but the person who has most helped me out has been me."