Daniel Sturridge brushes off 'lazy' criticism

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has insisted that criticism of his work rate is "unfair".

The 27-year-old has made just four Premier League starts for the Reds so far this season, with manager Jurgen Klopp often preferring Roberto Firmino as his central striker.

The Brazilian is seen by many as a more willing runner and defender than Sturridge, but the England international pointed out that his primary objective is to score goals.

"I don't worry about that, it's an unfair opinion. I feel that I contribute to the team with assists and goals. It doesn't really matter what people say to me. It's about positional awareness at the end of the day," he told reporters.

"My job is to score and my job is to create for the team and coming into the midfield positions is maybe too deep. I feel that if I'm coming short and I'm trying to get involved in the game then there's no-one up front in the forward positions. It's important to have a focal point of the team. If I drop deep and come on the ball, do skills and take people on there's no one in the centre-forward position.

"That's where I need to be, in between the lines, threatening the centre-halves, pushing them back and creating space for the other people. Sometimes I have to drop in there to maybe give them a different picture to create more problems but, again, it's about being in the box. That is where I need to be."

Sturridge is yet to score for Liverpool in the Premier League this season.