Exclusive interview with Sean Dundee as he reveals why he flopped at Liverpool and reacts to ‘worst ever striker’ labelSean DUNDEE/VFB STUTTGART (Image: Photo by Friedemann Vogel/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Sean Dundee was in disbelief when deciding his future in the summer of 1998. He had previously enjoyed two prolific campaigns with Karlsruher SC, scoring 41 goals from 87 appearances to establish himself as one of the Bundesliga’s most potent strikers and even help fire the club into Europe.

But after seeing the goals dry up in what would prove to be his final season with the club, netting only four times, it was time for a change for the then 25-year-old.

He still had a number of options on the table despite his disappointing campaign. But unsure where to go, that did not prepare him for the shock when he learned Liverpool had entered the race for his signature.

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“I was very surprised when I heard Liverpool were interested in me,” he admitted in an exclusive interview with the ECHO, courtesy of spelbolagutansvensklicens.co. “I mean, I had three teams interested in me already and was stuck trying to choose between them.

“One in the Bundesliga, Gladbach, I had Auxerre in France and Glasgow Rangers. Weeks on, I still wasn’t sure what to do.

“And then, as soon as Liverpool came in, it was like, ‘All right, I’m going there!’ There was no doubting or hesitation. As soon as I heard, I said, ‘That’s it, that’s where I want to go.’”

Dundee would complete a £2m move to Anfield as the Reds brought him in as cover for Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen and Karl-Heinz Riedle.

Yet his dream move would turn into something of a nightmare as the striker ultimately flopped on Merseyside. Making just five substitute appearances for the Reds, he was swiftly discarded by Gerard Houllier as he found himself returning to Germany little over a year later, tail between his legs, having managed just 56 minutes of action for the club.

Looking back, Dundee admits he only has himself to blame. Signed by Liverpool’s doomed joint-managers, after Houllier had controversially been appointed to serve alongside Roy Evans, he concedes he was not fit enough when he first linked up with the Reds and made a bad first impression that he was never able to recover from.

“It was my own fault really, why it didn’t work out,” he conceded. “The World Cup came, our break was before the English break.

“I had quite a long break, over a month, nearly one and a half months where I didn’t do much.

“So when the season did start, I was first of all not fit enough. And with the two coaches, it was a difficult thing. The two of them didn’t really get on with each other all the time. It was always a little bit of bad air, I would say.

“But it was that first impression, I didn’t make a good impression from the start. Obviously not being fit, I had to first catch up and get fit myself.

“And when I was fit and ready to play, I got injured. I had the knee injury and I was out for two months.

“And in those two months really, yeah, that’s where it really ended and my future there had passed.”

Evans would later admit that he regretted signing the forward, and is quoted as saying: “One player I do regret signing was Sean Dundee, he was terrible on and off the pitch. He didn’t take any notice of me, did what he wanted and lacked discipline. He certainly shouldn’t have joined Liverpool.”

Belatedly named on the bench for the first time against Valencia in the UEFA Cup in late October, his debut followed against Fulham in the League Cup when he was introduced in the 83rd minute.

A second outing followed in the return leg against Valencia at the start of November, before Dundee suffered a knee injury.

In his absence, Evans left the club with Houllier taking sole-control of the side. And the Frenchman swiftly left Dundee in no doubt that his time at Anfield was already over.

“When Gerard Houllier took over by himself and Roy Evans left, then my time was over there,” he recalled. “It didn’t matter how I trained or what I did, there was nothing I could do. I had to leave.

“He made it clear as well. As soon as he took over, there were a few players, I can remember, that I think he sorted out.

“There were quite a few players in that season that he didn’t want anymore. I know that at the end of the season Paul Ince and I used to train alone because he didn’t want us to train with the team.”

Dundee would at least make three further substitute appearances for the club the following April, with Houllier handing him a Premier League debut at a time when Liverpool’s European qualification hopes were already slipping away.

Unsurprisingly, history has not been kind to Dundee with regards to his Reds career. He is often referred to as the worst striker in the club’s history, along with accusations of being one of their worst ever players and signings.

Dundee is well-aware of such labels, but insists it is something he has learned to live with.

In hindsight, he wishes he had worked harder in pre-season and his Liverpool career had turned out differently, but he has no regrets about joining the Reds despite how it all turned out.

“You know what? I’ve gotten over that now,” he responds when asking about those ‘worst player’ tags. “What should I do?

“I mean, I’ve seen it. I’ve read it. I know what’s said about me and my Liverpool career. The worst player the club’s had, the worst striker. That’s just the way it is.

“At every club, there’s players that have been flops. I follow the Bundesliga, I follow Bayern, and players there are flops, they haven’t done well.

“And that worst player label, it doesn’t bother me anymore. I was just proud to have been there.

“If I could go back I would have worked harder in the pre-season and things would have all been different. That’s just the way it is. I can’t do much about it.

“It was that first impression. When I went there, I wasn’t fit. That’s the main reason. Obviously I regret it.

“I would have loved to have had a future there. I would have loved to have played there more. But, I don’t regret going there, you know?

“It was an experience. I met some great players, met some great people. And yeah, I’d like to do it all over again.

“I just keep on supporting the club, and when people say things like that, that I was the worst ever player or striker, it doesn’t really bother me anymore.”

Dundee has not returned to Liverpool since leaving the Reds in 1999. But following the club from afar, he hopes to return one day and experience the famous Anfield atmosphere again.

“I support the club. I’m proud of what they’re doing now, and I’m excited, really excited for the new season to get underway,” he said. “I can still remember my first time in the stadium.

“I wasn’t playing, and you know, you see it on TV but it’s nothing compared to being there at Anfield.

“I’ve told a lot of people that I’d love to go back again. I haven’t been back to Liverpool since I left, so I’d love to come back again.

“Watch a game, and bring a few people with me to show them exactly what the atmosphere is at Anfield. You can’t compare it to anywhere else.”