Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has told The Times that he feels he is targeted for unfair criticism.

Lovren made high-profile errors in defeats to Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, but has had a solid season other than that. He believes, however, that pundits are always looking for the next mistake rather than praising him when he does play well.

"Everyone makes mistakes, but I play one bad game in 18 and everyone says, 'Look, look, look.' Why? I don't deserve that," Lovren said. "People don't see me in the 'small' games. They see 5-0 against Porto but nobody sees my part.

"It's a challenge. A personality challenge. After a mistake, are you ready to move on? I did it straightaway after Spurs when I was in that record of 18 games unbeaten. Big players don't need six or seven games; big players in the next game prove you wrong.

Dejan Lovren joined Liverpool from Southampton. Getty

"But some people don't care about that Dejan. They're just searching for the next mistake."

He added: "You know maybe, it's sometimes just that my self-confidence disappears in some moments. And he [manager Jurgen Klopp] believes in me, you know? And I believe in him.

"Sometimes, I'm a person who thinks 'Ah, I'm really good.' But other times I think, 'Ah, I did that. I'm not good enough.'

"He says always be level, but it's difficult. You have sometimes self-confidence, sometimes not; sometimes good moods, sometimes not."