Daniel Sturridge has labelled those who have questioned his commitment to Liverpool as "disrespectful."
Sturridge, 26, has struggled with injury problems for much of the last two seasons, only returning to full fitness in recent weeks after several failed comebacks.
Some have questioned the England international's desire to remain fit for the Reds in the past, but Sturridge insists that viewpoint could not be further from the truth.
"I don't pay any attention to it whatsoever," he told the Daily Mail. "The majority, probably 95 percent of the people who talk and say things about me, don't actually know me.
"Even some of the people who've played with me don't actually know me. Because they're a teammate, doesn't necessarily mean we're friends or we talk outside of work. But anybody who knows me will know that I'm one of the most ambitious people out there.
"And for people to say, 'Oh he don't try enough or he doesn't want to be fit,' do you honestly believe I'd want to just be sat down picking up wages when I've dreamt of being a professional footballer ever since I can remember?
"I don't think I'd want to be here now, just to be sitting in my apartment, twiddling my thumbs every day -- because pretty much that's what I do.
"I can't go out, really. I'm not here having fun with all my mates. I live alone. My family's close but all my friends live down south. I'm here to work. I'm not here to have fun.
"I'm not here for a jolly-up. Liverpool, for me, is work. It's a job. It's something I take seriously and for anyone to question my integrity, it's disrespectful."