You'll Never Walk Alone

HEAVYWEIGHT LUCAS READY FOR PL FIGHT Jimmy Rice 12 June 2009
	Lucas Leiva believes next season will be his best yet following a gruelling push to gain weight.
The Brazil international accepts he was too lightweight after making the move from Gremio two years ago. He puts his improved form in the latter stages of last season down to piling on the pounds. Lucas thinks he is now 100 per cent ready for the physical demands of the toughest league in the world. "I have gained some weight this season and that has helped me be more prepared to play with the demands you face in England," he told LFC Magazine. "I have gained four kilos since I arrived and that's a lot. "In my first season, being very honest, I had a problem with physical games. "Last season, with the extra weight, I felt I could challenge anyone physically and go from one box to the other like I did in Brazil. "Maybe it has taken me 18 months to get my body physically into the shape that it needed to be in to play my best in England, but I feel that it is coming now for me and I am excited about my future prospects at Liverpool." Another reason Lucas is confident of enjoying a superb 2009-10 is the fact he will partake in a full pre-season - something the Olympics denied him last term. "I missed a lot of the pre-season last time with Liverpool because I was away at the Olympics with Brazil," he explained. "That meant that I started the pre-season, then I went away, and when I came back to the club it was hard to catch up. I had missed a lot of the important work that the boys all did together. "Next season I will be here for the whole of the pre-season programme and I believe that will help me play to the very best of my ability when we start again in August. "I will enjoy a rest in the summer, but already I am looking at coming back and being a better player next season." Lucas suffered mixed reviews from the press during his first 18 months in England, though never lost the support of his manager. One of the turning points came when he received plaudits for a mature display in Liverpool's 4-1 win at Old Trafford. The 22-year-old believes the ups and downs of his Anfield career have made him stronger mentally. "As an individual player I feel that I have become a better player this season, definitely," he added. "Everyone has bad days at the office when they feel that maybe they haven't played to 100 per cent of what they are capable of. "I have had those days, too. Of course I have because we all have them. "But through that I have made progress mentally and physically. "I think this has been the season which has taught me the most about myself. I have had bad moments over the last year with the crowd. "That has made it important for me to focus on my football and not be distracted by anything else going on around me. "It was hard at times, but it will all be helpful for me in the long term. "You get better through the hard times and not through the easy or good times. It gave me a challenge and I think I was able to rise to that. "I knew I had the quality to be playing in this team, even through the difficult moments. I had the confidence of the manager and the players and even if some supporters were not sure I knew that others were behind me. "Mentally I'm a better player. I've had the tough times and I've coped well with it and come through the other side. "I wasn't worried about silencing people. In football you will always have your critics but you have to just keep going and hopefully when they see that you are playing well, trying hard and always doing your best, they will come onto your side. "From my point of view, next season will be my best for Liverpool. I feel better physically and mentally at this moment than I have felt before at Liverpool."