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Midfielder knows moving from Blackpool to Liverpool means a more pampered life and a greater sense of expectation

The days of washing one’s own kit are over for Charlie Adam, but the constant pressure to deliver has returned. It is not a weight that burdens the new £7m Liverpool midfielder, whatever his experience at Rangers might suggest.

Adam would still be doing the laundry had Blackpool not ended their resistance to selling the influential Scotland international last month, making sure to load tangerine separately. “I was back in pre-season at Blackpool for just two days and so we didn’t have to wash our kit, which was the first time. I think the lads are back to washing their kits again now, though,” he said. “That was the way the club was run and I have total respect for that. It’s not a problem washing your own kit, it’s part and parcel of life, and I wouldn’t complain about it, although it’s been good to have someone else do it at Liverpool.”

Having made his debut for Ian Holloway’s team in front of 7,500 spectators against Doncaster Rovers over two years ago, the midfielder’s first appearance for Liverpool came before 84,000 in Malaysia. To Adam, however, the important distinction between Bloomfield Road and Anfield lies in the expectation on every appearance. He has been there before at Ibrox, where a hugely promising start to his Rangers’ career petered out in frustration, and it is a reunion the 25-year-old relishes.

“I’ve played for a big club, I’ve played in the Champions League, and at a big club you need to win every week,” said Adam, reminding all at his official unveiling as a Liverpool player that Kenny Dalglish has not bought a raw recruit from Blackpool. “Maybe we got away with that in some games at Blackpool last season, although if we never had a winning mentality we would never have gone up, but I know this season we are expected to win every game and we have the resources and the players to win games here.

“The expectation here is to win ever week but I’ve been used to that since I was young. Nothing changes. I was at Rangers at 14 or 15 and knew the club well, but the opportunity to play regularly enough to cement a place wasn’t there, which is why I left. People said it was a step down going to Blackpool but I saw it as a step forward. Liverpool is another step forward, so I think I have always been on an upward curve. I don’t want to rest, though, and think I’ve arrived now. I want to keep going forward.”

Adam’s hope of a January move to Anfield was thwarted by Blackpool’s understandable desire to retain their best prospect of Premier League survival. Not content with demonstrating his desire to land his compatriot with renewed interest this summer, Dalglish collected Adam from home the day a fee was finally agreed.

The midfielder said: “It doesn’t happen too often, getting picked up by Kenny Dalglish and taken to the training ground to sign for Liverpool. I’ll try and put a couple of performances in for him to repay him for that. But that shows the kind of man he is. He’s so down to earth. He’s achieved such a lot in the game but still has that buzz about coming back in again and I’m just fortunate to have the chance of working with him.”

Dalglish’s enthusiasm for Liverpool is clearly infectious and though Adam, like his manager, has refused to publicly declare any targets for the season, he believes few can compare with his time at Blackpool.

“This club is worldwide, world class and massive, but it was an honour to play for Blackpool and to achieve what we achieved there. Nobody expected it, nobody could imagine it,” he insists. “I think it was the biggest achievement in the history of the English game. I really believe that, when you look at the budget the manager had and the players he managed to get it. But when you come through the doors every day of a club like this and see a European trophy sitting there, you realise there are not many clubs like it in the world.”

LiverpoolAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk

• Midfielder seals transfer from Blackpool for around £7m
• ‘I want to be a better player and bring something to the team’

Charlie Adam is keen to help bring trophies back to Anfield after finally completing his move to Liverpool. The 25-year-old was a transfer target of Kenny Dalglish almost from the moment the manager took over from Roy Hodgson in early January.

After two failed bids in that window, when Blackpool were keen to keep their captain for their fight against relegation, Liverpool returned with an offer of around £7m and after his medical was completed without any problems Adam was able to sign a long-term contract.

The Scotland international is keen to get into pre-season training and start looking at how he can contribute to the club winning their first silverware since the 2006 FA Cup. “I am absolutely delighted to be here,” Adam said. “It has been a long process but now I can’t wait to get started and hopefully this will be a successful period in my career and in the club’s history.

“I see this as the perfect development for me to come here, play with such wonderful players and hopefully help the team to win trophies, because that’s the most important thing. I’m delighted to be able to walk out on the same pitch as some of the players here.

“There are good players at the club, top, top players who I want to learn from. I want to become a better player and hopefully bring something to the team. Hopefully we can have a successful period because it’s been missing now for a couple of years.

“At the end of the day you get judged on trophies and as a footballer you want to win as many as you can. This club has had a lot of success over the years, so let’s get back to doing that.”

The role of Dalglish in securing the signature of his fellow Scot cannot be overestimated. He identified Adam very early on as a player he wanted and on Thursday even drove the midfielder into the club’s Melwood training ground for the medical.

Dalglish’s influence was marked when he took charge in January, turning performances and results around, and that did not go unnoticed by Adam. “Liverpool is a massive club with terrific players and a terrific manager,” Adam said. “You have seen since the new manager came in the forward strides that have been made. Kenny has a terrific respect from players and people in the game.

“He is a wonderful manager and it’s an honour to be able to say I’m going to be able to play for Liverpool. I tasted Anfield last year, scoring here [in Blackpool's 2-1 win] was an unbelievable feeling and hopefully I’ve got many more days like that as a Liverpool player.”

LiverpoolTransfer windowguardian.co.uk

• Scotland midfielder undergoing a medical at Melwood
• Roma’s Brazilian keeper Alexander Doni may be next

Liverpool’s arduous six-month pursuit of Charlie Adam has finally paid dividends after they agreed a fee of £7m rising to £8.5m for Blackpool’s influential midfielder.

Adam, who was driven to Liverpool’s Melwood training ground for a medical on Wednesday by the manager, Kenny Dalglish, had been subject of an identical bid from Anfield in January but Blackpool rejected the offer to enhance their prospects of staying in the Premier League.

That mission failed but Dalglish’s interest in the 25-year-old remained and, subject to the medical, the Scotland midfielder should become Liverpool’s second major transfer of the summer on Thursday. His preference has been for a move to Anfield despite interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa in January, and personal terms should not present a problem.

The two clubs have engaged in protracted negotiations since the end of the season, with Blackpool rejecting lower offers from Liverpool plus the chance to take Jonjo Shelvey and Stephen Darby on loan. The deal is an initial £7m to Blackpool plus a potential £1.5m in add-ons.

Adam cost Blackpool £500,000 when he joined from Rangers in 2009, having been on loan previously, and scored 28 goals in 78 appearances during a two-year spell for Ian Holloway’s side.

The midfielder is likely to be followed swiftly by the Roma goalkeeper Alexander Doni, if he can negotiate a release. Doni is under contract until 2013 but his agent, Ovidio Colucci, said: “In the next 36 hours we will know something definite. Liverpool are interested and there is the agreement between the two clubs and with the player. Doni is in Italyright now. We just have to ratify certain details with Roma. If the deal is completed, Doni will join Liverpool on a free transfer and will sign a two-year contract. Doni is happy with the chance to go to Liverpool and play in the Premier League.”

Liverpool, who have already signed Jordan Henderson from Sunderland for £16m, remain keen to sign Stewart Downing despite having a £15m offer for the England international rejected by Aston Villa, and the impending arrivals of Adam and Doni will now intensify their efforts to find buyers for Alberto Aquilani and the reserve goalkeeper Brad Jones, among others.

They have also extended Glen Johnson’s £120,000-a-week deal, which had two years remaining. The 26-year-old was expected to leave during Roy Hodgson’s ill-fated reign but has enjoyed an upturn in fortunes under the Scot.

Liverpool’s director of football, Damien Comolli, said: “We were in talks for a few weeks, but it was easy to find an agreement because he wanted to stay and we wanted him to stay. We are very pleased he wants to commit long term, and I think he was pleased we went to him and asked him to commit long term. His best years are to come. Very often defenders peak between 26 and 31, so he is just entering into those years where a maturity comes in and his knowledge of the game gets better and better.”

LiverpoolBlackpoolRomaAston VillaTransfer windowAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk