Allen wants fresh start at Liverpool

Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen is aiming to start anew after his debut season at the club was interrupted by a shoulder injury.

Allen suffered a shoulder injury in March which put a premature end to his underwhelming debut season with Liverpool.

The 23-year-old is now fit for the new season and he declared his intention to star for the Reds now that he has settled in at the club.

"It's brilliant to be back. Obviously we all enjoy our break and our holidays but, at the same time, we can't wait to get back in and get started," he told the club's official website.

"Having missed the end of last season, I personally couldn't wait to get back in. Hopefully I can put the injury behind me once and for all.

"I think, for anyone, your first year at a new club can be tough in some ways but I feel settled here now and I'm looking forward to a fresh start with the coming season. Hopefully I can put in some good performances.

"I think last season I may have put myself under too much pressure. So it's a case of just giving my best every day in training and in every match. That's all I can do, really."

Manager Brendan Rodgers has promised more signings even after the arrival of Iago Aspas, Kolo Toure, Luis Alberto and Simon Mignolet and Allen is pleased to see the new players settling in well.

"They've settled in really well," he added. "With new signings you sometimes worry that it might take them a little time to adapt but they've settled straight in and they've got into the swing of things straight away, which is a really, really positive sign."

Liverpool's head of performance Glen Driscoll had other good news for the fans as well regarding the fitness of their players with Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard both set for the new season.

"Daniel Sturridge is the only player in the squad not training at the moment but he's progressing really well and he's still on target to make the start of the season," he told the club's official website.

"Steven Gerrard is still being modified but he's about to enter all out training."

"Martin Kelly is back in full training and doing really well," he added. "He has absolutely no problems.

"Raheem Sterling has actually come back a little bit earlier, like Martin, to do some extra conditioning so they hit the ground running. He looks extremely sharp.