Adam Lallana has admitted that he’s failed to live up to his £24 million price-tag following his move to Liverpool in the summer.
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However, the former Southampton man says he’s determined to finish the season on a high with an FA Cup win – though he is struggling to be fit for Sunday’s semi-final with Aston Villa.
Lallana’s latest injury, to his groin, is just one in a long line of fitness problems this season that have hampered his ability to hold down a starting position and settle in to life at Anfield.
The 26-year-old has managed to score just five goals and provide there assists in 35 appearances for the Reds this season.
“It’s not gone great,” Lallana said to Mirror Online. “It started off with injury and I’ve had another over the last few weeks with a few more in between.
“It’s been quite frustrating if I’m being honest and I haven’t been out on the pitch as much as I’d have liked.”
Lallana’s season had been affected by fitness problems before it had already began with the England international having to sit out pre-season with knee ligament damage.
This was the first of four injuries so far this campaign, Lallana suffering problems with his thigh and groin throughout the season that have kept him out for a number of weeks and prevent him from building up a head of steam.
“Getting injured and missing pre-season I feel played a big part in my recurring injuries. It’s a very important part for a footballer to get the basis of the fitness in.
“But I want to be fully fit for the run-in, we’ve still got an outside chance of making the top four, and that’s something I want to be a part of. And obviously the last game of the season is the FA Cup final.
“I’m looking to come back in next season, get a good basis in with my fitness and kick on from there.”
Lallana might be bullish about Liverpool’s chances of wining silverware this season but is wary of their FA Cup semi-final opponents ahead of the game this weekend and has urged his teammates to watch out for Villa’s danger man Christian Benteke.
“They’ve picked up and had a great result at Tottenham last week. That shows they are definitely in good form.
“Benteke is finding the net again so we have to keep our eye on him, but we’ll be concentrating on ourselves and playing well. We have enough in our team to win.
“We said at the beginning of the season our aim was to get to the final of a competition and win some silverware. We are still in that position at the moment. Liverpool is known for winning lots of silverware and I think it’s important that we continue that this year.”
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