Former England manager Sam Allardyce has said Mohamed Salah is acting 'like a big baby' amid his dip in form at Liverpool.
Salah has struggled at Liverpool this season, scoring just seven goals in 28 games in all competitions - a stark contrast to the 34 he managed last term.
Just four of those strikes have come in the Premier League, and he hasn't scored in the competition since the start of November - 12 games ago, taking into consideration the games he has been available for.
It was another disappointing showing for the winger in the narrow win over Nottingham Forest at the weekend, when he was substituted after 77 minutes and replaced by 17-year-old Rio Ngumoha.
He went onto seemingly express his frustration, shaking his head on the bench. It comes just two months after he launched a verbal tirade in the direction of manager Arne Slot, insisting he had a poor relationship with the manager.
Salah's difficult season, though, is on him, according to Allardyce. The veteran manager has taken aim at the Premier League star, insisting it's about time he bucked his ideas up.
'Mohamed Salah needs to bite the bullet, sit down, and make sure he starts scoring,' Allardyce told Footy Accumulators. 'Stop blaming Arne Slot when it's your own fault that you're not scoring and getting taken off.
'He can't be disappointed with being taken off when he's not scoring or creating.
'It seems like some sort of mental block, because it's not just a spell anymore, it's the whole season. It's a worry for Liverpool and for him.
'He needs to stop displaying his dislike for the situation on the pitch. Go and knock on the manager's door and take it up there. Don't do it in front of everyone; he's behaving like a big baby.'
Salah said after Liverpool's 3-3 draw at Leeds in December, which saw the Reds concede a 96th-minute equaliser: 'I could not believe I was sitting on the bench for 90 minutes,' he said. 'That's the third time. It's the first time in my career I think.
'(I am) very disappointed, I have done so much for this club over the years, especially last season. It seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That's how I feel.
'Someone wants me to get all the blame. The club promised me a lot in summer. Now I'm on bench so I can say they haven't kept those promises.
'I used to have a good relationship (with Slot). Now we don't have any relationship and I don't know why. It seems like someone does not want me in the club.'
Ngumoha received plenty of plaudits for his cameo, which was his ninth in the league this season, having made 17 appearances in all competitions in total.
There have been widespread calls for him to earn a start in the Premier League, with Liverpool chasing a Champions League spot amid a tough season.
Slot put the winger's lack of regular minutes down to his age, saying after the 1-0 win over Forest: 'He has incredible potential, otherwise at 17 years of age you don't play as many minutes as he does in the Premier League, let alone at Liverpool. I don't think there's any other 17-year-old that has played so many minutes this season in the Premier League as he has.
'So that tells you how much of a talent he is and we think he is. He's making progress more and more and that's why lately you see him playing more and more as well. He gets stronger.
Ngumoha responded: 'I just need to keep pushing and keep gaining the manager's trust and hopefully that leads to more minutes. Hopefully soon.'