Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has hailed the response in training from big money signing Dejan Lovren after the Croatian defender was dropped to the bench following a string of less than assured performances for his new side.
The 25-year old, who made a big money move from Southampton to the Reds over the summer, hasn’t been able to recapture the kind of form that made him the Liverpool bosses top defensive target and is currently being kept out of the side by veteran defender Kolo Toure — a player who couldn’t get anywhere near the starting eleven at the beginning of the season. “Dejan has been brilliant. He has taken it like a man” said the Northern Irishman when asked about the defender. “He is working hard in training. He knows he will get an opportunity and hopefully he can then take it.”
Toure, who is expected to be part of the Ivory Coast squad that will compete at the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, has held a steady line at the back alongside Martin Skrtel since returning to the starting eleven with the Reds breaking a three-match losing streak in the Premier League with two wins on the hop — something that has propelled them back into the right half of the table.
The Liverpool boss has come under fire in recent weeks with results nowhere near up to the bar that was set during last seasons miraculous run at the title, but the Northern Irishman has since shuffled his pack at Anfield and results, for the time being anyway, look to be on the up. “Picking on form has always been the case and all the players understand that. “If you look at Martin Skrtel as an example, he didn’t play so much for me during my first year here” he continued. “But we spent a lot of time that season talking about the strengths he had in his game and the areas where he needed to improve. After that period, once he got into the team, he was absolutely fantastic. “I am sure that Dejan will be exactly the same. Sometimes you need that little bit of time out of the team. I have absolutely no doubt that he will be a very good player for us.”
