Gerard Houllier has backed-up our exclusive reports from last year which claimed that Milan Baros failed to impress the lads at Melwood following his well documented arrival.
Already likened with Michael Owen prior to his arrival, there was a lot of excitement when the deal finally went through to bring him to Liverpool. Those highs soon became lows as he looked a below average player who carried around a massive chip on his shoulder.
Fortunately now, Baros has shrugged that chip off, knuckled down and started to prove the doubters wrong.
"When he first arrived I think some of my staff had thought I was already ill when I signed him," said the boss.
"For the first three or four months none of my staff dared come up to me and tell me I had made a mistake in buying him, but I think in the back of their minds that is what they thought.
"It was a culture shock for him when he arrived in England. He came over by himself, but his girlfriend joined him a few months later. Now he has settled.
"The big difference has been in his weight and in learning English. He lost maybe three or four kilos over the summer and has looked sharp since then.
"I think he realised that if he wanted to show his true quality he had to look after himself, and of course he needed to improve his English to communicate. Now his English is good."
* Claim your FREE bets now @ YourFreeBet.com!