Liverpool legend, Ian Rush, believes it is time for Javier Mascherano to repay the club for their faith shown in him.

The Argentine midfielder has been rumoured to be on his way to join Spanish giants, Barcelona but Rush reckons the player should stay and give back something to the Liverpool fans.

In his column on the Liverpool Echo, Rush said:"The time has now come for Argentina's captain to back up the faith many have shown in him with a string of top displays for the Reds at this most crucial period,"

Rush is also puzzled at the media's intense scrutiny of Mascherano's future with the Reds.

He lamented: "I don't know where the stories are coming from and you tend to find they only emerge when a team is having a bad patch,

"It doesn't do any good, though, and you must hope it doesn't prove too unsettling.

"In my view, Barcelona are not a bigger club than Liverpool and he [Mascherano] would do well to remember he was given a chance here when things were going badly for him."