Borini: Why I'm not worried
Fabio Borini insists he is not concerned by the fact he is still waiting for his first Barclays Premier League strike and is confident he'll soon be amongst the goals for Liverpool.
The 21-year-old found the back of the net on his Anfield debut for the Reds when he volleyed home against FC Gomel in August.
Though that is his only goal from his first 10 appearances for the club, Borini is not worried.
"I'm not finding things difficult as such. In fact, last year, I only scored the one goal by October and all my other goals came after January," he told journalists at Anfield.
"I've already scored for Liverpool in the Europa League and perhaps now it is October, it is time to start scoring in the Premier League as well.
"It's just a matter of time. It's not a question of me finding it difficult, getting used to this level or this league. It's a matter of time before my first league goal comes.
"If you get your positions right and keep getting in them as a striker, goals will come. I have an aim, but I don't really like to say what my aims or goals are because I like to keep them to myself."
Borini's transfer to Anfield from AS Roma in the summer reunited him with Brendan Rodgers, whom he worked with at both Chelsea and Swansea City.
This, the striker believes, is one of several factors that have helped him settle in on Merseyside.
"It feels like I have trust from the manager, firstly from a personal perspective and not [just] as a player," said Borini. "It is the same feeling from me for him.
"That is really helpful because I know in training I can try new stuff and I don't have the pressure to demonstrate a lot more than what I have because he already knows me.
"At Liverpool, the expectations are always high because it is a top club - it has to be this way. I also have big expectations and that's why I came here and chose this club. Settling in has been easy because the people, staff, team and everybody have made it easy for me. It's been really helpful."
At 21, Borini would be considered by many clubs to be a youngster - however, in a team that has boasted an overall average age of 23.38, the Italy international is something of an experienced campaigner compared to the likes of Raheem Sterling, Suso, Andre Wisdom et al.
"Not just me, but lots of our players are very young," considered Borini. "The first year in the Premier League - or the first time playing in the Europa League, like me - is very important because this gives the team some kind of freshness and enthusiasm.
"It has also helped me learn from Steven Gerrard, Suarez or Carragher. They are top players and have played every kind of game you can as a player, and that's really helpful because they help us in training and matches."
Borini will be hopeful of lining up against fellow countrymen tonight when Liverpool play host to Udinese in the Europa League.
The Reds head into the game on the back of recording their first Barclays Premier League win of the campaign at Norwich on Saturday, and our No.29 insists confidence is high.
He said: "We are all in a good mood, but we were too before the win. We've kept to our game and way of playing, and the mentality has been the same since the season started. The mood is good, here.
"Playing away or at home, we always try to play the same way. Obviously it's a little bit different at home because we've got the crowd on our side, but I have seen since I came here that even when we play away, we have lots of fans following us so that gives us extra help and whether home or away, we'll always try to do our best."
On what Liverpool can expect from a team that finished third in the Italian league last season, Borini added: "We can expect a lot from Udinese. It will be a very good test for us. They play in a formation that isn't particularly well known in the Premier League (3-5-2).
"They just missed out on the Champions League last year, so it's going to be tough for us.
"The Europa League is very important. It can take us to a high performance level because we play against Udinese and other teams that should be playing in the Champions League."