'Rickie has so much still to give here'
Adam Lallana has no doubt that his friend and long-time teammate Rickie Lambert will soon begin to produce the kind of goalscoring form that earned the Englishman a transfer to Liverpool in the summer.
The former Southampton duo shared a dressing room for five years at St Mary's and have latterly each made the step up to Three Lions international duty, before moving to Anfield one after another ahead of the 2014-15 campaign.
Lambert surpassed double figures in both of his Barclays Premier League seasons with the Saints, showing a sureness of touch, aerial threat and finishing quality that appealed to Brendan Rodgers as he sought to bolster the Reds' attack.
Despite his best efforts, however, the No.9 has yet to open his account for the side that he has supported since childhood - but Lallana fully expects that statistic to change, sooner rather than later.
"I speak to Rickie a lot, I've had the privilege of playing with him for the last four or five years," the midfielder explained to talkSPORT.
"We knew it was never going to be easy, moving clubs and coming into a team that people expect a lot from. But I can assure you that we're both working hard day in, day out.
"When Rickie gets his chance, I'm sure he's going to take it. I'm sure there's a goal or two around the corner for him; it's the same with any striker, you want to be on the pitch as much as possible. People judge you on scoring goals.
"He is a massive asset to Liverpool and he has still got a lot to give."
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