After spending much of the last two years on the sidelines, Liverpool defender Martin Kelly is ready for the season to start now. Forget the World Cup, forget pre-season, the Merseyside native wants to get to the action as soon as possible.
After completing his first 90-minutes since January in the 4-0 post-season friendly rout of Shamrock Rovers, Kelly is fired up and ready to go. “The last few months have been difficult,” the 24-year-old told the official website. “It was about being able to understand that you can’t play in games when we’re playing one game a week. But it’s definitely strengthened my character. I’ve just kept my head down and I’ve been trying to do extra work after training and in the gym.”
After being sidelined for a whole year with an anterior cruciate ligament injury in September 2012, Kelly has made only fifteen appearances in total under Reds boss Brendan Rodgers, though the Northern Irishman confirmed that he’ll have some chances to impress next season. “He’s a quality player and he’s a good guy as well – he knows the club inside out. He’s been around for a long time and the game against Shamrock Rovers was his first game for a number of months” explained the Liverpool boss. “He’s a good guy and there will be games next year for the likes of him to come and play in if we continue to qualify in the competitions.”
That, of course, is exactly what Kelly wanted to hear. “As a football player from the age of seven, training through the week and having the game at the end of the week, that’s all you want to do – play football. So it was frustrating, but I’ve come through that now and I’m looking forward to playing games next season” enthused the Liverpool native. “I think everyone’s ready for a break, but I’m ready to hit the ground running. I’ll have a week or two off and then get back at it.”
