Gus Poyet believes Darwin Nunez will simply have to “accept” not playing every week for Liverpool despite being the club’s record signing.
Speaking to sports betting site BetVictor, Poyet said his fellow countryman’s poor finishing is letting him down and he thinks the striker’s form will only improve if he puts less pressure on himself to score in every game he plays:
“I think he just needs to relax this season. He needs to relax and believe in himself. He can’t constantly be worrying himself with whether or not he is going to be starting each week. When you start thinking about that, you begin to force situations. It’s even worse for a striker because it can be easy to think, ‘if I score, I will play,’ then you start making decisions that aren’t based on instincts but based on always wanting to score.”
“He is an important part of the Liverpool squad, but he is not going to start every week. He needs to accept his role and then his performances will decide whether or not he gets to play more often. When he gets the chance to play, it is down to him to show that he deserves more minutes.”
Nunez’s record this season is very poor
The 25-year-old has scored just 3 goals in 18 appearances this season, and he looked a player short on confidence during the 3-3 draw against Newcastle on Wednesday evening.
Nunez fluffed his lines on more than one occasion, prompting a lot of criticism from fans following the final whistle.
Injuries mean Liverpool have no choice but to persist with him
The Reds don’t have another recognised No.9 available at the moment, with Diogo Jota still on the sidelines with an abdominal injury.
Head coach Arne Slot did start Luis Diaz through the middle with some success against Manchester City so that could be something worth trying again in the future if Nunez can’t escape his current rut.
We talked to Gus Poyet in an exclusive interview where he discussed Liverpool’s title chances here. The former Chelsea midfielder also commented on Enzo Maresca, Christopher Nkunku and Chelsea’s plans to sign a new striker with our sister site ChelseaNews.com.
