Liverpool midfielder believes in his own ability.
For a player who has featured so irregularly over the past two seasons, Adam Lallana is a big believer in his own ability.
The Liverpool midfielder is confident he can still have a big impact for the Reds is he is given an opportunity.
The problem is, chances have been hard to come by this season.
He has played only four minutes of Premier League football, in the win over Arsenal.
Lallana did not make the match day squad of 18 for the Premier League opener against Norwich City.
The former Southampton midfielder said this was a decision which left him stunned.
He told The Times: “If I want to be part of this team, the best team in Europe, I need to keep improving and developing and that is what I have found difficult over the last two years because I have not been able to show that. I can’t be the same player, I need to be better because the team is better.
“I didn’t make the squad for the first game of the season and that was a bit of an eye-opener. I didn’t see that happening. I hadn’t experienced that since I was growing up at Southampton.
“But it is a 60-game season and I look at my last couple of seasons and think: ‘Just be patient, be persistent and eventually my chance will come.’ If I am fit, I am sure I will contribute in a big way.”
Lallana had come off the bench a week earlier for an 11 minute cameo against Manchester City in the Community Shield.
Since the Norwich game, he has been on the bench in all three games, but has only come on once, for four minutes.
With no starts, the Liverpool midfielder is staying patient, but he must now be aware that not even his spot on the bench should be taken for granted.
This might even make him work harder to stay in Jurgen Klopp’s plans and push forward for his opportunity.
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