Liverpool star Sturridge denies Klopp rift: Reds are “at the start of something special”

The striker also claimed the Anfield club is “at the start of something special” under the German’s command as he delivered the strongest indication yet his future remains on Merseyside.

Sturridge was instrumental in Thursday’s 3-0 win over Villarreal, scoring the crucial second goal, as he rewarded Klopp’s decision to start him by propelling Liverpool into the Europa League Final against Sevilla on May 18.

''I’m happy. I’m happy,” said Sturridge. “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.”

Sturridge said his sole focus is on helping Liverpool overcome the near misses that have ensued in the Premier League in 2014 and in February’s Capital One Cup Final defeat to Manchester City.

Asked if there were issues with Klopp, he said: “Not at all! Never. There is never any on my part and there is never any on the manager’s part, either.

''I can be upset if I am not playing. But that is natural for any player to be upset.

''Hopefully it is the start of something special. We get that impression as players. We didn’t win the last final we played in, so we have to learn from that.

''It took me a while to get over not winning the Premier League here. That is the closest I have been since leaving Chelsea to winning something big. The Capital One Cup was so difficult to take. I was in tears after the game, not just because we lost but because it was a moment for us.

''We wanted to move to the next level in that game but we were unfortunate. But we have learned from it and we have got another final.”

The outpouring of emotion in Sturridge’s raucous celebration following the cool finish that gave Liverpool an aggregate advantage revealed a side of the forward seldom seen.

He admitted he should have scored from Roberto Firmino’s cross in the sixth minute, his blushes spared when the ball hit Bruno Soriano and bobbled into the Villarreal net, but the determination he showed thereafter to make a more telling contribution bodes well.

''With the first chance I had I was like “how did that not go in?” he said. “So I felt as if I had to make up for the first chance and I am grateful to God that I was able to do that.

''It’s the biggest goal I’ve scored for Liverpool, I’d say so. But hopefully there will be a lot more bigger games and a lot more bigger goals to come in the future for the club.

''We are playing for a big club and pressure comes with that. You deal with it every single day, not just on nights like these. For us, for the management, for everyone at Melwood: it was a case of just going to do what we do best.

''As long as we did that, we knew we could get the result.”

He also revealed that since his latest comeback from injury in mid-February he has been doing extra work in an effort to fully overcome the fitness issues that had plagued him.

A return of eight goals in 16 appearances since then – he has 12 in 24 this season – confirms not only his predatory powers but that he is in the best shape possible.

''There is no doubt about it,” he added. “It’s a few months since I have been back and I haven’t even had a day off. I’m not fronting this. I actually haven’t had a day off.

''When the other boys have had days off, I have been in. It has just been extra stuff, whether I have been training or doing recovery work, I have been doing it. I am not trying to create a sob story. At the end of the day, we get paid to do this and this is my dream.

''I can’t complain.”