"Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge feels he never got a real chance to prove himself at Manchester City after their new-found wealth brought a big change in transfer policy.
However, the 23-year-old does not have any hard feelings towards his former club and has no regrets about moving to Chelsea, where opportunities were also limited. Sturridge has settled in quickly at Anfield as he prepares for the match against Manchester City on Sunday.
"I went into the first team when the influx of money came in [from Shinawatra] and they had a lot of strikers coming in," said the England international.
"When the new owners [Sheikh Mansour] came in they started spending more money and so for me it was always going to be difficult.”
But Sturridge is looking forward to establishing himself as a fixture at the Merseyside club.
"Hopefully this is the club I settle at and stay at for many years to come.
"I have no worries, no stresses. I already have a love for the club and it is growing day in, day out and hopefully we can stay in love for the rest of our lives.
"The only time you actually realise how big the club is, is when you get here. I always knew Liverpool were a big club but I never realised how big they were until I joined.
"It's amazing to be a part of it all. When you hear 'You'll Never Walk Alone', it doesn't touch you when you're not playing for the club.
"But when you actually play for the club, you feel the passion and it gets you ready to play.
"It's always a weight off your shoulders if you start quite well; it has been a good start. I'm hard on myself and I like to do a lot better than I am doing.
"There's a lot more to come from me. I've been performing okay but this is a fraction of what I'm actually able to do. Hopefully I'll be able to show what I'm really capable of doing in months and years to come, when I'm playing week in, week out and I'm fully fit."
Asked about his fledgling combination with 22-goal Suarez, Sturridge agreed with suggestions that the pair have clicked quickly.
He continued: "It's going well. It's early days but the early signs are that we're playing well together - I'm sure that will continue. As you play with someone more regularly, you do things telepathically, you know where they're going to be and you start playing off the cuff. It has been easy to play with him from when I joined because we're kind of on the same wavelength and understand how each other play. It's important that we continue to work hard in training together and with our teammates to make sure we move up the table. It just happens. If you look at when Thierry Henry played with Dennis Bergkamp, or Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole - people like that just get along and happen to have chemistry on the field."
Sturridge was regularly used as a wide forward during his time at Chelsea, leading to speculation on how Rodgers would position his new signing and Suarez together. The former Manchester City man has led the line in his five appearances to date, a decision which paid fruit with three poacher's goals - and he feels that's the best place for him.
"Those are the goals that I'm used to scoring," Sturridge added.
"From the age of seven to 19 I was playing centre-forward so those are goals I've always scored - it's nothing new to me.
"I'm thankful to the manager for giving me the opportunity to play as a centre-forward, long may it continue.
"It was more what the manager said to me prior to coming to the club. I had a great chat with him.
"I didn't work with him at Chelsea but I spoke to players who had and the things they said about him were great.
"It was an easy decision, to be honest - it's a huge club, fantastic fans, great teammates, great manager. It's important to get my head down now, focus on my football and not worry about anything else.
"People don't realise that from the age of 17 I've had seven managers. It has been difficult to settle for me.
"I'm more mature now and I'm ready to play. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully this will be the club I settle at and stay for many years to come."
