As he headed for the Anfield dressing room 45 minutes into his full Liverpool debut, Xherdan Shaqiri was rightly pleased with what he had offered up.

The Reds’ three-goal lead over Southampton owed much to the freshest face among their line-up; his powerful shot having forced the own-goal opener before a swerving free-kick clipped the bar to tee up a Mohamed Salah tap-in for 3-0 on the stroke of half-time.

And so, like everyone else inside the ground, he did not expect to be sitting out the second half as a result of Jurgen Klopp choosing to introduce James Milner in his stead.

As he reflects on that decision during an exclusive sit-down with Standard Sport at Anfield, a smiling Shaqiri admits: “I was surprised to be honest. But it’s the solution of the coach so you have to understand this.

“He just gave the same reason he said to you: It was difficult for him to take me off but it was a tactical thing he wanted to change.

“He came to me straight away and said why. I have a very good relationship with him so everything is okay.”

Having performed equally impressively across 90 minutes after being handed his next start four days later, Shaqiri still did not escape a reminder of Klopp’s high expectations.

Seconds after the full-time whistle had blown on a League Cup third-round defeat to Chelsea, the Swiss appeared to be receiving an on-pitch dressing down over a last-minute free-kick he did not even take.

By way of explanation, he says: “[Klopp] was not intense or shouting something. It was just a tactical thing, like something off the free-kick we should do better.

“In the end, Jordan took the free-kick and it was maybe not the best solution we did there.”

It is fair to say that the grace with which Shaqiri accepts both his shock withdrawal against the Saints and Wednesday evening’s set-piece criticism does not quite tally with the public perception of his character.

Since his arrival at Stoke City in 2015, accusations of lethargy and surliness have been levelled at the 26-year-old so frequently that many casual observers have come to accept them as fact.

And so, in the early stages of a fresh start at Anfield, he is keen to set the record straight.

“It’s not true what they wrote because I’m a totally different type of [person],” he insists.

“Some ex-football players, or ex-teammates, they spoke to the media and it looks like I am a bad boy or something but I’ve never been a bad boy or had some problems at a club!

“For me, I’m a nice guy who likes to joke, so I think the people who spoke about me were totally wrong.”

One person in particular has done more than most to fuel the idea that Shaqiri is a malign influence in the dressing room - Stoke City midfielder Charlie Adam.

But the Switzerland international remains bemused by his former teammate’s summer-long campaign to paint him as the true villain of the Potters’ relegation to the Championship last term.

Asked about the criticism, he says: "I think it’s just frustration maybe or jealousy because I had a good move.

“I was surprised that he spoke like this about me but that is sometimes the character of a player.

“I know what he said was totally wrong because at that time I played there - especially when times were hard - I was there and I was scoring a lot of goals.

“I was one of the only ones who helped the team with goals in difficult games and he was that guy who took the red card in [important] league games (against Everton) and missed a penalty (against Brighton).”

In fact, as far as Shaqiri is concerned, the Scot’s words aren’t even worthy of serving as motivation when he takes to the pitch.

“I don’t have to prove Charlie Adam or some people that are speaking about me wrong,” he adds.

“I’m just a player who wants to work and who does my job every day, the same as I always did.

“I know that people know how good I am - most of the people that understand football know that they are wrong.”

Klopp proved himself to be one of those people in chasing Shaqiri's signature this summer; his enthusiasm convincing the player to reject a host of other offers in order to join Liverpool.

And the forward's belief that he made the right choice has not wavered in his first few months at Anfield.

“I had a few options because I was really cheap! I was maybe one of the cheapest players in this crazy market," he says.

“The good thing was Liverpool came really early. They called Stoke City and for me it was clear when they came because I wanted to work with Jurgen and I knew him a long time.

“I didn’t want to hear anything else at that moment and said let’s do this.

“It was important that the coach wanted me and he called me and said, ‘I want you in my team’. It was clear to come here to progress this club to getting better and more successful.

“I’m settled in very well and I’m very happy to be here and to try to make my focus to learn every day and help this team to progress and go forward.”