Liverpool move is one of the biggest failures of my career - but Steven Gerrard is wrong about me

Paul Konchesky

Paul Konchesky insists he was good enough to play for Liverpool, but admits he regrets his move to Anfield and considers it the ‘biggest failure’ of his career.

The England international joined the Reds from Fulham on transfer deadline day in August 2010, signing in a £3.5m deal that also saw two youngsters move in the other direction to Craven Cottage.

However, the then 29-year-old was not a celebrated signing with supporters as he followed unpopular new manager Roy Hodgson in making the move from Fulham to Liverpool.

The left-back made just 18 appearances for the Reds before being deemed surplus to requirements after Hodgson was dismissed by new owners FSG.

Konchesky’s relationship with supporters had already soured after his mum went viral on social media for an X-rated Facebook post at 3.45am in which she branded them 'Scouse Scum' in response to backlash her son was getting as Liverpool were inflicted to their worst start to a season in fifty years.

The defender would later be jeered by supporters when he was substituted in a shock defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers in one of his final appearances for the club.

Yet Konchesky has no ill-feeling towards supporters of his former club despite such sour episodes.

While he admits joining Liverpool is one of the only regrets of his career,

Konchesky insists that is only because his brief stint with the Reds did not work out, with his switch itself still considered a ‘dream come true’.

Konchesky

“Listen, I don't regret many things in my career,”

“You look at it now, do I regret it? Only because of what happened.

“But I was 29 and going to one of the biggest clubs with a massive history. You can't turn that down.

“I knew the club was trying to change hands with the owners, but obviously not as much as it probably was behind the scenes.

“So I knew it was going to be difficult, it was a difficult time for the club. It was a difficult time for me, you know, and probably wouldn’t happen now.

“And I think at the time, looking back now like they didn't really want Roy Hodgson as the manager.

“I was one of Roy’s signings. So it was always going to be hard, you know?

“But if someone comes to you at 29 years old and it’s a club like Liverpool with that massive history, I think everyone will bite their hands off. And it was a dream come true.”

“I learned loads from it, I played with some fantastic players and I met some fantastic people along the way.

“Obviously I knew Stevie (Gerrard) was a fantastic player, but he sets standards and he reaches them standards every day and he makes everyone train properly, recover properly, eat properly.

“He was like the manager really if you like, because his standards, everyone has to do it.

“And if you don't, he’d soon tell you and you wouldn’t be around and you wouldn’t be liked at the club.

“But I played with some fantastic players there. Lucas Leiva was someone who went under the radar, I think, because he was a fantastic player. Raul Meireles…

“I loved playing with Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger, so I could name them all. But that was a fantastic group and it was just a shame it didn't work out.

“I obviously still thank the fans for supporting me when I joined. It's tough because the majority probably didn't want me there, but some did.

“And the ones who didn't want me there but backed me, I thank them a lot and I wish them all the best.”