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It's unlikely that there was a Liverpool player as universally unloved last season as Dejan Lovren. The unfortunate Croatian had a tough time on and off the pitch, as poor performances week in and week out led to chronic criticism by fans and pundits alike. It was always going to be tough for Lovren to fill the place vacated by Daniel Agger, but even Lovren acknowledges that it was a rough season.
"It has been tough," Lovren said while on tour with the club. "I think it was a tough year for everyone at the club and the fans. But it is not Dejan Lovren-Liverpool, you know? I cannot defend all alone. It is 11 players. When we are good, everyone is good. When we are bad, everyone is bad, not just me. I think we need to look like this, not just put the pressure on me or point the finger. I don’t agree with this.
"I know what the papers were writing about me. I don’t want to have to listen to this again. We want to move on as a team. When we are better, it is because we will be doing all together good."
In fairness to Lovren, lots of players underperformed last season and contributed to Liverpool's disappointing results. In fairness to his teammates, Lovren's individual errors and mental lapses were things that seemed to occur regardless of how the rest of the team was playing. They're also tendencies that don't seem to have dissipated during Liverpool's pre-season tour of southeast Asia and Australia, where Lovren has shown the same lack of self-awareness on the pitch he does in the interview.
It can't be fun reading about one's shortcomings on the regular in the press, nor can it be much fun to be on the receiving end of fan frustration with such frequency. But it's probably not all that much fun for fans to hear a player deflect any personal responsibility with a classic Han Solo-esque "it's not my fault!" either.
