Thursday 10 December 2015 11:14, UK
Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren believes he is on "the right path" after he was nominated for November's Premier League Player of the Month award.
Lovren has had a difficult start to his Liverpool career, making a number of high-profile mistakes and finding it difficult to command a regular first team spot since signing from Southampton in the summer of 2014.
However, a change in manager - coupled with an injury to Mamadou Sakho in early November - has seen an upturn in Lovren's fortunes and he has put in several impressive displays, most notably in Liverpool's 4-1 win at Manchester City.
Speaking to Liverpool FC's official monthly magazine, Lovren said his return to form is down to all the hard work he has done in training.
"Without putting the work in, you will struggle," he said. "Even when you're at the top you have to make sure you concentrate because the easiest thing is to drop down a gear then before you know it that becomes your level.
"It was a big difference moving from Lyon to Southampton, and then going from Southampton to Liverpool was a much bigger difference again because of the increased expectations and everything.
"But now I feel that I understand everything about the club, the fans and the people. They are really living more than 100 per cent for Liverpool."
Lovren also believes his initial difficulties may have been partly due to the fact he did not have a proper pre-season due to problems with a visa.
"When my transfer to Liverpool went through, the team were already away on tour and I couldn't get the visa I needed to join them," he added.
"When you have a pre-season with your team for one month or so and then you start the season, you feel like you are with them. That was the case this season. But last year I was with them just three days and then I had the first game against Southampton.
"It wasn't perfect and expectation was big on my shoulders. I'm extremely proud that I'm here. I want to improve every day.
"In every training session and every game I am striving to show that I want to stay here as long as possible. You need to have some time with your team to settle down and then it will go in the right way. I think I'm on the right path now."
