Rodgers unhappy with Sturridge

25 November 2013 09:31

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has told Daniel Sturridge to take responsibility for his own fitness after the striker was limited to an 11-minute substitute appearance in the Merseyside derby.

The 24-year-old played the full duration of England's friendly with Germany last week when Rodgers felt he was not fit to do so having been affected by a dead leg.

The former Swansea manager therefore named him as a substitute for Saturday's Barclays Premier League game against Everton, a role Sturridge embraced as he stepped off the bench to score a late equaliser in a thrilling 3-3 draw.

Quoted in the Daily Telegraph, Rodgers said: "I am looking at him in training on Friday and he is not right. Whose responsibility is that? It is the association, the player. All I can do is look and assess who will give me absolutely everything when they go out on the field.

"We have a game against a massive rival away from home. I need everyone as close to 100 per cent as I possibly can. He is clearly not. A lot of players, especially the top ones, are never 100 per cent fit.

"Suarez will never have been 100 per cent in his time here. Different personalities, different types.

"Daniel has been a match-winner for us throughout his time here but I didn't feel, because of that level of fitness, he was going to be that for us. I have seen it before. There is a trend.

"There are some games when he hasn't played well and that has happened on the back of not training. With any player, you have to put yourself on the training field. If you do that, you will be in with a chance of playing."

Source: PA