Rickie Lambert has slammed Mario Balotelli's efforts at Liverpool a "disgrace" - and has revealed his frustration at playing second fiddle to the controversial Italian.
The attacking duo were both signed by Brendan Rodgers in 2014 to fill the void left by Luis Suarez, who quit Anfield to join Barcelona.
Lambert, a boyhood Liverpool fan, sealed his dream move from Southampton but failed to hold down a regular spot and managed just three goals before joining West Brom a year later.
Indeed, the striker was frustrated to see Rodgers prefer Balotelli, who managed just four goals in 28 appearances.
And in an honest interview with Bristol Live, Lambert has reflected on his time at Liverpool and detailed Balotelli's efforts away from the cameras.
"It was great," he said. "I returned to my home city as a different person than when I left. I was a lot more professional of course. And it went okay at first, I scored a couple and was quite happy.
"But I could tell that the players were all shocked at losing Luis Suarez, and how much of their game evolved around him. I was never going to replace someone like that was I? Going in after him was hard, very hard.
"And then Brendan Rodgers brought in Mario Balotelli and put him in ahead of me, and it done my head in to be honest. I couldn’t understand.
"The way he used to train was a disgrace. Off the training pitch he’s quite infectious, a lovely lad. But his persona on the training pitch is not good.
"When he played he did try, and I have come across players with that attitude before, but they are usually good enough to get away with it, but he wasn’t.
"I just didn’t understand how Rodgers was letting him get away with it, and picking him ahead of me. It affected me directly, but it had a negative impact on the team."
