'Away fans give me stick? I love that'
Daniel Sturridge doesn't mind when the vast majority of the crowd seem to have it in for him at away grounds - in fact he thrives on it.
The 23-year-old dismantled Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday with a hat-trick and an energetic performance that ran the opposition defence into the ground.
Throughout the early exchanges of the 3-1 win, his former allegiances to Chelsea led the Fulham faithful to express their distaste.
However, Sturridge appeared to relish the challenge as he went about clinching his first Liverpool treble.
"I love that. I hope the fans do it every game," said Sturridge. "It doesn't really matter what they say to me.
"I love the banter, it's what I live for. So hopefully they'll keep giving me stick!
"For me it's all about hard work and it's down to me to be dedicated to my job and not to let myself, my family or my manager down. It's up to me to show what I'm capable of doing."
The forward, who became the quickest player since Robbie Fowler and Fernando Torres to score 10 Premier League goals for the Reds, levelled proceedings minutes after Dimitar Berabatov gave Fulham the lead in the first half.
On 62 minutes he added a second and then completed his hat-trick after more brilliance from Philippe Coutinho put him through on goal.
Afterwards he reflected: "The manager has shown faith in me to put me in a position where I'm able to show what I can do.
"I'd like to thank my teammates, the manager, God and my family. My teammates have made my job easy to settle with them. I've kept praying every game - which I always do.
"I want to say thank-you to all four. Hopefully I'll have a long career ahead of me at Liverpool.
"My family keep me grounded and make sure that I am not going off the rails.
"I'm relaxed, I'm enjoying my football and I'm enjoying being out on the football field. When the manager believes in you and gives you an opportunity, you have to go out there and work as hard as you can.
"If you can do that then hopefully, your ability will shine through."
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