Sturridge: I am a team player

Sturridge has come in for recent criticism for supposedly not being a team player, but the Liverpool striker has denied such claims.

The former Chelsea striker has also fallen out of favour with Jurgen Klopp this season, with the German preferring the likes of Coutinho, Mane, Firmino and Lallana in the main attacking positions.

When asked about the perception that he doesn't offer anything other than goals, he said: "I don’t worry about that. It’s an unfair opinion. I feel that I contribute to the team with assists and goals. It doesn’t really matter what people say to me".

The 27-year-old has also his way of staying high up the pitch and not dropping into midfield, by saying that the team needs a "focal point", something which he offers.

"It’s about positional awareness at the end of the day," he said. “My job is to score and my job is to create for the team and coming into the midfield positions is maybe too deep.

"I feel that if I’m coming short and I’m trying to get involved in the game, then there’s no one up front in the forward positions. It’s important to have a focal point of the team. If I drop deep and come on the ball and take people on, there’s no one in the centre-forward position.

"That’s where I need to be, in between the lines, threatening the centre-halves, pushing them back and creating space for the other people.

"Sometimes I have to drop in there to maybe give them a different picture to create more problems but, again, it’s about being in the box. That is where I need to be".

Do you think Sturridge is a selfish player?