Craig Bellamy was today crowned Standard Chartered's player of the month for December.

The Welsh international scooped the award after tallying 44 per cent of the total votes cast, and he finished ahead of Martin Skrtel who came second with 18 per cent while Jose Enrique was third (11 per cent).

Liverpool's No.39 enjoyed a fine month and ended it by netting twice against his former club Newcastle United at Anfield in the final game of 2011.

He also produced an assist with a corner for Martin Skrtel's superb header away at Aston Villa.

After receiving his award at Melwood, Bellamy told Liverpoolfc.tv: "I'm happy, it's a nice trophy and it's nice to get the acknowledgements.

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"It's been a half decent month for me and anytime at a club like this to get the Player of the Month award is a great honour.

"December is always a tricky month as there is a lot of games and I have had the opportunity to play quite a bit and play a good role.

"I've kept myself in good shape and the manager and the coaching staff have been brilliant with me and lucky enough for me I've been able to have an impact on certain games as well."