Christian Poulsen will prove his Liverpool worth, says Roy Hodgson - 7M sport

Christian Poulsen will prove his Liverpool worth, says Roy Hodgson



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Posted Friday, November 12, 2010 by theguardian.com

Christian Poulsen will prove his Liverpool worth, says Roy Hodgson
Christian Poulsen of Liverpool with Roy Hodgson in August, after his move from Juventus.

Roy Hodgson has defended his £4.5m purchase of Christian Poulsen despite admitting the midfielder will struggle to win acceptance from Liverpool supporters after a poor start to his Anfield career.

The Denmark international has endured a torrid time since his arrival from Juventus in the summer, when he was signed by Hodgson, his former manager at Copenhagen, as a replacement for the Barcelona-bound Javier Mascherano. Poulsen was withdrawn to ironic jeers against Napoli at Anfield last week while his 73rd-minute introduction for Dirk Kuyt during Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Wigan was booed by Liverpool fans.

Poulsen's price will rise to £5.5m depending on achievements at Liverpool and though Hodgson refused to defend the Dane at all costs he is confident the 30-year-old will justify the price tag and his judgment.

"He was good against Wigan, his introduction secured the point at least because he was very good when he came on," the Liverpool manager said. "Unfortunately I can't do anything about the fans, but he's had one or two games in front of our crowd where he's not played well and he knows he hasn't. He is devastated by that and the crowd, who aren't stupid, know he's not played well. It's a fact of life.

"He can only keep working hard and when he gets his chance he has to get on with his job. He had a job to do against Wigan and without his introduction, with a very tired Maxi Rodríguez and Dirk Kuyt, who knows we could even have lost the game. But he's got quality, he's a good defensive midfield player. He's not that bad on the ball, but let's not beat about the bush and try to disguise the fact – he's had a bad start."

Poulsen also struggled in Italy and in Spain with Sevilla and Hodgson admits the failure to make a positive early impression in England has had an impact on the midfielder. The manager said: "When I took him off in one game he was devastated, not just because I'd made the decision but because he knows he was nowhere near the level he can play. He knows having played in Italy, for Juventus, that when you play well the crowd sing your name and when you're not playing well they boo you. He knows that. But I have every faith in him. We will get a lot of good use out of him over the year but he knows it will be tough to win the fans over.

"I can't wave a magic wand to do that, I can't speak for them, but I'd be surprised if the ones at Wigan said he didn't do anything for the team because he did. He won a lot of challenges, got us on the counterattack on several occasions, didn't miss a pass and won a few headers. He's devastated because he wants to do well, because that's what he came to Liverpool to do. Every player gets sad if they're not immediately accepted by the crowd or if their performances aren't good enough to do that. But he's doing his best and people have bad games."



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