Stewart Downing is adamant he will be stronger because of the criticism he has endured during his first season at Liverpool.
Liverpool winger failed to contribute either an assist or a goal
Stewart Downing is adamant he will be stronger because of the criticism he has endured during his first season at Liverpool.
After failing to contribute either an assist or a goal to Liverpool's Premier League campaign, the £20 million signing from Aston Villa has been identified as one of the negatives from a season which saw the Merseysiders finish eighth.
Owner John Henry was suitably unimpressed and promptly relieved Kenny Dalglish of his duties, drafting in Brendan Rodgers as the Scot's replacement.
Yet Downing has remained a regular member of the England squad and has been tipped to start their Euro 2012 opener against France on Monday as Wayne Rooney serves the first of his two-match ban.
"Criticism makes you stronger," said the winger.
"You are always going to get criticised at a big club like Liverpool but it is a great club to play for.
"I thoroughly enjoyed my first season and I am sure we will be better next year."
Unlucky
As Liverpool's troubles continued, so the criticism at Dalglish's repeated insistence his side was doing nothing wrong grew louder.
Despite the disappointing league position, Downing is adamant there was some truth in his old boss's assertions.
"A lot has been said about Liverpool and the fact we didn't perform but we battered teams at Anfield at times," he said.
"I can think of one or two bad performances. Most of the time we were very unlucky.
"We just didn't have that killer instinct. The manager said there wasn't much you could say and that was probably right.
"But a lot of new players signed, we played in two cup finals and came away with a medal so there were a lot of positives to come out of it as well."
France
England open their Euro 2012 account against France on Monday, and Hodgson has already conceded the Three Lions cannot be viewed as favourites against a team currently on a 21-match unbeaten run.
Yet Downing does not believe the team should be intimidated by such statistics.
"We don't fear them," he said. "France are a good team but so are we.
"We know their strengths and weaknesses. They are good going forward and have some great individual players.
"It will be a tough game but it is a great opening match for us to play and we are confident we can get a result against them."
