Takumi Minamino admits he is still adapting to life at Liverpool but is not using it as an excuse, as he’s “hungry” to contribute goals and assists.
Minamino has made just six appearances since joining Jurgen Klopp’s side in January after being afforded time to settle in to his new surroundings, but is now determined to make more of an impact in the matches he features in.
He told Liverpoolfc.com: “In the last three months there have been areas which I’m quite happy about. But personally I would love to contribute more to goals and assists – I’m feeling very hungry about that.
“I don’t really know how much I still need to learn. But day by day, I’m feeling that I understand his [Klopp’s] philosophies and I’m getting better.
“I have to show results. I think this is very important in order to win trust from the teammates and trust from the supporters. I think this is a very important thing that I have to achieve.
“I have been in this club for three months and I haven’t played many games and my playing time is not that much – but this is not a good excuse.
“In order to appeal to my teammates and [for them to] understand what I’m good at, I have to do what I really need to do.
“I think I’m still [learning] to fully understand the team, but I still hate to wait. In order to make an instant impact and make a contribution to the team, I’m doing my best every day.
“I only have limited chances but when the manager needs me, I have to show the results of the manager’s expectations.”
Liverpool have lost three of their last four in all competitions after being dumped out of the FA Cup by Chelsea and will hope to get back to winning ways as they host Bournemouth, and Minamino insists the Anfield crowd can play a significant role on proceedings come Saturday lunchtime.
He added: “Support from the fans always gives us positive energy. In order to overcome this difficult situation, their support really is huge.
“This good atmosphere would be a huge help for us. Support at Anfield is always encouraging players.
“In order to overcome this difficult situation, this energy from the support will be very important.”
For some bizarre reason, the F365 Show still hasn’t been cancelled. So we’ll be back every Thursday with more irreverent nonsense intriguing insight. Subscribe here.