by Dundreamin is back » Fri Aug 07, 2015 3:41 am
CHRISTIAN BENTEKE is a man on a mission for Liverpool – and also to prove a point to former boss Tim Sherwood.
The Belgium frontman believes Sherwood took too much credit for “transforming” him last season into a goal machine who saved Aston Villa’s Premier League life.
Benteke’s 11 league goals in the run-in after bagging just three in the first half of the season coincided with Sherwood’s arrival at Villa Park.
The 24-year-old was finding his way back to form after a serious Achilles injury and he said: “People do not understand. It was frustrating. It was like I had never been injured.
“He came in at a good time, at a time when I was getting fit and getting better, so it was like the right time for him and for me.
“OK, he helped me a lot, but I had been injured for a long time and I was getting back to what I could do. It was just a question of time.
“With Paul Lambert it was hard because I had just come back and had to help the team. We were struggling, and when Tim came I was feeling better than before.”
Benteke will make his Liverpool debut on Sunday, when he travels to Stoke with new team-mates who will be looking for him to help erase the pain of a 6-1 trouncing there on the final day of last season. In fact, they will be looking to him to deliver a huge amount after his £32.5million transfer.
But far from fearing such pressure, the striker believes he will be energised by the challenge. And far from needing Sherwood’s “crosses”, he is confident he will thrive at a club playing less directly.
“I said to Tim Sherwood football has changed and the football now is modern and I can adapt. It is not just about crossing, I can score normal goals, too,” Benteke insisted.
“I told him I am not afraid about it. If Liverpool bought me, then they know how to use me. I believe whatever level I play at I will score goals.
“I think the pressure will bring the best out of me. There was pressure at Aston Villa – a different pressure – but I scored goals. It is the pressure to be at the top and with Villa it was the pressure of not to go down.”
According to Sherwood, the move is a risk because “going to bigger and better clubs, players don’t actually play, so then they end up looking for a new home again”. But Benteke sees it differently, thanks to a message from his friend, Chelsea star Eden Hazard.
He revealed: “Eden sent me a text message. He is happy for me. He said now I have a chance to win and to beat him.
“I think we have a chance, too. We have a good squad. It is up to us now to show them.”
You suspect he may just want to show Sherwood, too.