Stoke City striker Peter Crouch says his time with Liverpool was a great moment in his career.

The 31-year-old striker, who goes back to Liverpool today for Stoke in the FA Cup quarter-finals, believes the experience was crucial to his career.

Crouch admitted: "That was the most ­difficult time of my career without a doubt. Looking back on it now, once I had scored, the weight lifted really and I went from not scoring to going on a real good run.

"From then on I scored a lot of goals for the club. It is just psychological, once you get over that, you can go on.

"The biggest thing that helped me was the ­Liverpool fans who were different class.

"Even when I didn't score for the club, they were just ­unbelievable.

"Not once did I hear a murmur from the crowd. Everyone was willing me to score and that was so ­special.