Charlie: Liverpool makes me smile
Charlie Adam claims that just hearing the word 'Liverpool' brings a smile to his face - and admits moving to Merseyside has had a dramatic effect on his sleeping pattern.
The Scotland international moved south from Blackpool this summer having failed to land his dream move in the January transfer window.
His man of the match display in our victory over Chelsea last weekend was an illustration of how well he is settling in on the pitch, but things are going just as well off it.
"I've got a smile on my face every day. I'm not one for waking up in the morning but since I've came here I'm up at quarter past seven looking forward to training," said Adam.
"As soon as I wake up I think 'right, I'm going to training'. I love driving into Melwood every day and it puts a smile on my face.
"I just love being at this club. I'm getting up early because there's a buzz and a feel-good factor about coming in here. When you walk in the dressing room and you see the players that we've got, life could not be any better.
"When I hear the name Liverpool, a smile comes to my face and that is why I am delighted to be here. When you get here you just want the opportunity to play and fortunately enough I have been able to play in the majority of the games this season.
"My missus will tell you I'm a totally different person now to when I was at Blackpool. The last six months there was hard because I knew what I wanted and that was to go. I was disappointed not to come here in January and everyone knew that. I knew it was time to go and that I needed the change and I was grateful for the opportunity I was given.
"So coming here every day is a dream for me, it's a dream for anybody.
"Some people don't realise that there's a small minority that get the opportunity to join this club so you have to grasp it with both hands and hopefully I can do that in the next few years and try to play a number of games for this club."
Despite his smooth transition from playing for Ian Holloway's upstarts to performing in front of a packed Anfield every week, Adam admits there is an extra pressure that comes with wearing a Liver bird on your chest.
"When you come to a club like this you are expected to win every week because of who you play for and the quality of the players that we have," he said.
"The size of the club is ginormous. When you are at a big club the next game is just as important as the last one. When you are in the Premier League with Blackpool you could get away with thinking, 'Okay, we've beaten Liverpool, let's enjoy it for a couple of days.' Here you can't.
"As soon as the Chelsea game was finished we spoke about the game, obviously, but then the focus is on the next match. We beat Chelsea but that's out of the way and the focus is 'Who have we got next week?' You need to be at the top of your game every week and playing well in every match.
"I'm used to this because when I was young I was at Rangers so I was expected to win every day in training. The pressure is on you from day one and it's drummed into you that everything you do you have to win, so that probably helped me coming here. I wasn't fearful coming here.
"If I had any doubts I could have sat at Blackpool for another five years.
"I wanted to come here and there has been a rapid rise in my career since I left Rangers. It has only gone one way and I am delighted with that."
Meanwhile, the 25-year-old claims he is in the best shape of his life.
"Okay, my shape does not look like I'm stick thin or anything like that, I know that myself. But fitness-wise, I don't think anyone could question me," he said.
"If you can get stats or if you asked the physios and fitness staff here they'll say that I'm in the top one or two in terms of metres covered, but people will still call it as they see it. Not everyone has the same thoughts about each player but if anyone wants to know about me they can call the club and ask for the stats."