Saturday 7 May 2016 07:29, UK
Daniel Sturridge says there is no truth to reports of him being unhappy at Liverpool and says he is fully committed to the club.
Sturridge feels there is 'something special' happening at Anfield since the arrival of Jurgen Klopp as manager and he is keen to be a part of the German's long-term plans.
The England striker has been in and out of Klopp's side since returning from his latest injury setback, but says nothing should be read into that, one of the reasons behind stories casting doubt on his future.
"Yeah, of course I am happy here," Sturridge said. "I'm happy. I'm happy. I have never expressed not being happy here. I think it is everyone playing Devil's Advocate.
"They see that I have been left out sometimes and they think 'maybe that means he is unhappy' but, at the end of the day, the manager has got a job to do.
"He has got to pick the team that he feels is best on the day. And I have got a job to do, which is to perform when I am playing.
"I have had the injuries and I have been in and out of the side in recent times but it has never been a case that I am not happy at the club.
"I am grateful to the club for giving me the chance to come here from Chelsea. I am grateful to Brendan [Rodgers] for signing me as well.
"Now Jurgen has come in and he is giving me minutes on the pitch. You know - I could not be playing at all. But, of course, I want to be playing in every game. It's one of those things that you have to take on the chin."
Liverpool reached the Europa League final - they will face Sevilla - thanks to a 3-0 win over Villarreal on Thursday and Sturridge hopes his goal in that game will not be the last he scores on a big Anfield night, more of which he fully expects under Klopp's leadership.
"Hopefully it is the start of something special but we will take each game as it comes," he added.
"We didn't win the last final we played in, so we have to learn from that. I think this game has shown we have learned.
"This was a massive game, playing on our home turf. But we took things from the Capital One Cup in to Villarreal. We couldn't have any regrets. We had to put everything in to it to try and get the results."
