Asked what it would take to get the respect he feels he is due, he said: “If I win – I want to win.
“As long as I win, and I lead my team to winning that’s when I will be really satisfied.
“As a football player, I don’t play for the individual. I think a lot of big players that we recognise today in the game are players who have won something, and I want to be part of them.
“The road is still far ahead, but I’m ambitious and I’ll work every day for my team to win – I’m not thinking about myself.”
Lukaku relishes the pressure that comes with “playing for the biggest club in the world” and does not regret spurning the chance to return to Chelsea in the summer.
“No, no, no,” he said. “When I make a choice it’s with my head and my heart. I made the right choice for me.
“As you can see, I’m in a good situation. I’m with a manager and players who push me every day. The challenge is there to win and it’s something that I wanted.”
Danny Drinkwater was also facing his former club on Sunday, with the Chelsea midfielder left frustrated by defeat to the club whose youth system he came through.
“We definitely should have got something from the game,” he said.
“In the first half we were very dominant. In the second half it was a bit different, it was more even, but we didn’t deserve to lose that game, no chance.”
source-sport.bt.com