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Jason McAteer has issued a stern warning to Alexander Isak, stating that he needs to step up his game for Liverpool and can no longer use his disjointed pre-season as an excuse for his slow start at Anfield.
The Swedish international made the switch to the Reds in a record-breaking $163 million move from Newcastle United on transfer deadline day, ending a drawn-out saga. The forward essentially went on strike at St. James' Park in an attempt to force a departure from the Magpies, spending most of the summer training solo.
As a result, he didn't feature for Newcastle throughout pre-season, nor during the initial weeks of the Premier League season before his move to Anfield. Since joining Liverpool, Isak has yet to find the back of the net in the English top flight, with his only goal for the Reds coming in the League Cup against Championship side Southampton, out of his nine appearances so far.
The 26 year old, who recently missed five Liverpool matches due to a groin injury, made his comeback for the Reds in their 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, reports the Liverpool Echo.
However, his performance was lacklustre, touching the ball a mere 14 times during a disappointing display and making unwanted history as he became the first player in the club's history to suffer defeat in all four of his initial Premier League starts for the club.
And McAteer was left thoroughly unimpressed with the striker's 'invisible' display against the East Midlands side as he directly questioned using Isak's restricted playing time as justification for his sluggish beginning.
"(He) needs (to do) more. You can't keep churning the narrative that we are going to give him game-time," he said on the Official Liverpool FC Podcast. "He is a professional footballer and knows what he needs to do.
"You can go out onto a pitch and give [100 per cent] for 45 minutes because that's the plan. You give everything for 45 minutes and there's nothing in the tank. He was anonymous. He was absolutely anonymous.
"There was a moment in the second half on the right-hand side, I was looking at Isak's movement. There was a lot of attacking talent on the pitch.
"Ekitike had come on; he was outside the box on the left-hand side and I was thinking: If Liverpool pull the trigger and the keeper spills it he isn't going to create an opportunity for himself by following the ball in and being in a position where he might get the bits.
"You've got to be there to score goals. He's thinking about it too much."
Furthermore, McAteer also criticised Isak for withdrawing from one challenge specifically during the Reds' defeat, suggesting the Anfield faithful turned against the forward consequently. "I have got to bring it up, there was an opportunity to make a really good tackle in the middle of the park and he backed out of it and the crowd turned on him," he said.
"That's the last thing you need when you're in that position. You're not scoring, not playing well and you've backed out of a tackle and the crowd have turned. We still talk about the Conor Bradley tackle on [Kylian] Mbappe and people remember moments and tackles. That was your opportunity to win the ball, win something.
"That's when you can change the crowd, that's your opportunity, take it and he didn't. That was just one moment, he didn't take his opportunity on the pitch. He looked a bit anonymous and we can't keep churning the narrative out that he's had no pre-season. He has got to produce."
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