"He has been working with Paco Ayesteran on the physical work, and he knows he needed to improve that," said Liverpool boss, Rafael Benitez.
"You can work on your stamina easily by running a lot, but getting the speed and strength you need is more difficult.
"One of his other problems was the pace of the game. He is not the quickest and has needed to learn how to keep the ball and use the players around him.
"We have also worked on his attitude and mentality. He is a player who needs to know you have confidence in him and we have tried to support him. We told him to keep doing the things he does well."
