Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on his new perspective at Liverpool

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain believes he’s come back stronger than before after finally making his first-team return against Huddersfield on Friday.

The No.21 stepped onto the field after a year on the sidelines for the Reds, and he almost marked the occasion with a goal which was thwarted at the last minute by the Huddersfield defence.

But the midfielder thinks a lot of hard work behind the scenes will soon pay off as he returns to the fold under Jurgen Klopp.

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“Of course [I’m capable of better than before],” Oxlade-Chamberlain said.

“If I didn’t feel that, there wouldn’t be much point in coming back. I’ve got to believe that’s where I can go to. And I’m going to need to do that to get back into this team.

“I just think I was moving in the right direction. I was becoming more consistent but it was a short spell [of performance] and to be that [top] player you need a long period.”

He added: “The biggest thing for me this whole year, and I’ve said it to friends, is that when you’re removed from it you realise how big the pressure is on the boys – pressure to produce really good results, every week, in all types of competitions, in different countries.

“I’d be working hard at the club feeling I’d had a long day, then see the boys in the canteen, just back from a Champions League game in Italy or wherever, with their bags on their backs and they’re off to Bournemouth away.

“When you’re in it, you’re just in it. Removed, you realise how relentless it is. You get to hear the noise and everyone wants wins and wins and wins.

“And from the manager I’ve seen, however well the boys have done at the weekend, he’s the same exactly on the Sunday and Monday. He keeps demanding from the players. He keeps them there. You can see how he’s living it himself, the demands he puts on himself and how that oozes out [to everyone].

“Everyone understands what it means to play for Liverpool, what the fans demand – which is just giving your all for the club.

“I’m lucky to play with these boys. It’s not nice to miss out but it hasn’t been ‘bittersweet’, more sweet, really, seeing how well the team has done.

“The most important thing is I’d love Liverpool to achieve something really special. That comes before me. I’ve been out long enough not to worry too much about [personal objectives].”

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Source: anfieldhq.com