RICARDO Gardner might be a winger at heart but he is slowly coming round to the idea that he can be a top Premiership defender.

Invited to express a preference, the Reggae Boy admits his natural instinct is to get forward, but he knows his place.

If Sam Allardyce tells him he is playing at left-back ... well, just ask Steven Gerrard.

With hindsight, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez may regret switching his main driving force to the right wing in the second half -- as Gardner played him out of the game.

With Gardner in such impressive form, the England midfielder -- consistently a key figure for club and country -- was well and truly sidelined.

The softly-spoken Jamaican is still not altogether convinced his future lies in a left-back role, but this latest performance was another huge step along the road to conversion.

And unlike certain Premiership performers who have infamously tried to dictate where they play -- Newcastle's Kieron Dyer, take note -- this is one player who is more than happy doing his manager's bidding.

"Whatever the gaffer says, I've just got to work on it," Gardner says, amused at the slightest suggestion that he should question Big Sam. "He's the boss."

Although he never misses an opportunity to get forward and make his presence felt in his opponents' half, Gardner revelled in the reflected glory of Wanderers having kept their first clean sheet of the season, which was a major factor in their victory over Liverpool.

A few more of the same and he might finally be persuaded that a career change is in order.

"The clean sheet was a great feeling," he said, "and, as the season goes on, we are going to need a few more like that.

"That was a great result for us at this stage of the season. There's a good feeling throughout the club at the moment and I'm feeling comfortable.

"Henrik (Pedersen) made some great runs on the left-hand side, but he does well getting back too, so he's a big help."

Until Allardyce started the conversion course last season, when Gardner responded by producing some of his best Wanderers displays in a white shirt, the only defensive position he seemed capable of playing was wing-back, where he made many of his early international appearances.

Jamaica have changed their system and he now plays for his country exclusively as a left-winger. But, as Allardyce pointed out on Sunday, it takes more than a left-winger to shackle Gerrard.

"I know he is a great player," said Gardner, who is preparing for World Cup qualifiers against Panama and El Salvador in the next seven days. "I just had to dig in and try to keep as tight on him as I could.

"I still don't consider myself more of a defender than an attacker, but I am trying to balance it."