EXCLUSIVE: Carroll's £35m fee despair: Liverpool striker reveals price-tag torment
PUBLISHED: 21:49 GMT, 9 April 2012 | UPDATED: 22:38 GMT, 9 April 2012
Misfiring Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has admitted privately that he is struggling to cope with the pressure of the £35million price tag that made him the most expensive British footballer.
Carroll and his Liverpool team-mates head to Blackburn tonight hoping to win only their second Barclays Premier League game since the end of January.
Feeling the pressure: Carroll has revealed just how tough his massive price tag is proving to be
The former Newcastle striker has become symbolic of Liverpool's struggles, scoring just three times in the league this season.
Now it has emerged that the England international has admitted to friends that he has struggled to deal with the attention and pressure that came with a transfer fee that shocked the Premier League when Liverpool bought him in January last year.
Firing blanks: Carroll's last league goal for Liverpool came in January... against Wolves
It is understood that the 23-year-old is determined to make things work at Anfield and still believes he has what it takes to prove himself a valuable asset on Merseyside.
However, he feels his best form will not come until he can forget about the enormous amount Liverpool paid to take him to the North West from his home city.
One friend of Carroll said this week: 'Andy isn't unhappy at Liverpool - he thinks Kenny Dalglish has been supportive and he still thinks he can make it work.
'But one of his main problems is the fact that Liverpool paid so much for him.
'He feels that the size of the fee wasn't his fault but that he has had to deal with the consequences of it being so huge and a record.'
Carroll has scored only five times in the Premier League since arriving at Anfield and only eight times for the club in total.
At Newcastle, he had an impressive record of 31 league goals in 57 league starts.
Dalglish is preparing to leave some of his key performers on the bench tonight against Blackburn at Ewood Park in an attempt to safeguard Liverpool's FA Cup ambitions.
Skipper Steven Gerrard is likely to be the biggest name held back ahead of Saturday's Wembley semi-final showdown against Everton, while leading goalscorer Luis Suarez and defender Daniel Agger could also be rested.
Taking a tumble: Carroll endured a torrid time on his return to former club Newcastle
Taking a tumble: Carroll endured a torrid time on his return to former club Newcastle
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