AS he put pen to paper on a four-year-contract on Friday, Steven Gerrard knew his ordeal was almost, but not quite over.

  Asking for forgiveness was one thing, being sure he'd receive it from supporters who'd ached with confusion was another.

  He needn't have worried. When he emerged for a pre-match warmup at The Racecourse shortly after 2pm, an already packed away stand reserved the kind of throaty welcome which is their hallmark.

  With a sheepish wave and applause, Gerrard buried the final, lingering demon of a troublesome week.

  Not that we expected anything but a boisterous response to the Prodigal Son. Images of Liverpool fans queuing outside the Shankly Gates to mix the number eight shirt with a packet of Swan Vesta were no more than a TV stunt.

  Only those who bitterly fail to understand the unique relationship between Liverpool fans and their heroes would dare use the ignorance of one fickle fan as representative of hundreds of thousands of others.

  It's fair to say the PR machine needed to be particularly well oiled at the tale end of the contract crisis and it continued as Gerrard and Jamie Carragher shared the honours of parading the European Cup.

  Carragher was effectively Liverpool captain for 12 hours on Tuesday, but was typically the most influential in speaking in favour of Gerrard keeping the armband on Wednesday.

  It was appropriate he shared the accolade.

  Wrexham had their own silverware to show off, and the LDV Trophy winners felt no sense of shame after an entertaining game which fulfilled the traditional pre-season purpose of providing far more goals than tackles.

  The defending was brimful of generosity from first minute to last, allowing a seven-goal warm-up to go Liverpool's way.

  Rafa Benitez gave debuts to Jose Reina and Bolo Zenden. The Spanish keeper had little opportunity to show-off much more than his incredibly big shorts.

  He was beaten once, early on, after Didi Hamann's sloppy pass allowed Jon Walters to feed Mark Jones, dribbling around Reina for a surprise opener.

  After a slow start, Liverpool took over after that.

  Zenden looks like he'll offer tidiness and balance on the left of the midfield.

  His credentials are impeccable, although the fact he's only signed a two-year deal suggests, despite an unblemished reputation, he's still arriving at Anfield with something to prove.

  A few recent arrivals come under the same category. Fernando Morientes knows bigger and better things are expected from him this season now his period of adaptation is over.

  Morientes and Gerrard were the class acts while they were on the pitch, with the Spaniard showing the touch and goalscoring prowess which Rafa Benitez expects to flourish far more this season.

  The Spanish striker wasted no time hinting he'll improve his goal ratio, tapping in the equaliser from six yards after Steve Finnan fed right-midfielder Darren Potter to cross.

  Gerrard was driving through the middle at will and almost put his side ahead in spectacular style. Keeper Michael Ingham was well positioned to deny the skipper the perfect end to the week after a powerful 20 yard run.

  Ingham also pushed a fierce Djbril Cisse effort over the top after more good work by the skipper to feed the enigmatic French forward.

  Naturally, Gerrard was the provider for a second. Morientes' bullet header from the captain's corner restored reality after a half which was close on paper, but not in terms of the gulf in class.

  Benitez made nine changes in the second half, but Liverpool continued to dominate.

  Milan Baros, who's selection (or not) will be one of the more interesting sub-plots this Wednesday since he'll be cup-tied if he plays, showed he was in no mood to give up on his Anfield career yet.

  He was gifted Liverpool's third after Ingham's woeful clearance. Baros was fed by strike partner Anthony Le Tallec before dribbling past the keeper and firing into an empty net.

  After hitting the bar, Baros then hit a stunning volley to dispatch Xabi's Alonso's trademark pinpoint pass.

  Baros and Luis Garcia could have added to the tally before defensive carelessness at the other end allowed the hosts to restore respectability.

  Simon Spender pulled the ball back for Lee McEvilly to end Jerzy Dudek's hopes of clean sheet.

  When Rodney Jack made it 4-3 on 81 minutes, it seemed Liverpool had taken a little too much on board from their last match against AC Milan about how to lose commanding leads.

  Benitez may have been annoyed had an equaliser arrived, but he'll be content with an undemanding work-out ahead of the more important encounter this Wednesday.

  Reina and Zenden know what the shirt feels like, Gerrard is still here and, despite being on the pitch a full 45 minutes as a centre-half, Josemi didn't get booked.

  A few days ago, two of these facts were beyond anyone's wildest dreams.

  By Chris Bascombe at The Racecourse, Liverpool Echo

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