In-form Skrtel targets final
Martin Skrtel believes he is playing the best football of his Anfield career so far and says that the confidence placed in him by manager Kenny Dalglish has helped him grow as a player.
The Slovakian, who signed from Zenit St. Petersburg four years ago today, also heaped praise on defensive coach Steve Clarke.
"Since Kenny and Steve came in the atmosphere changed around the team. Everything is much better now. If I feel the confidence from the manager that is important for me and that is the reason for my form," said Skrtel.
"Maybe I can say this is the best period in my career and definitely since I came here to Liverpool."
"I am just trying to do the best on the pitch, try to enjoy the game and I am thinking positively.
"We work a lot in training on defending with Steve and that has probably helped not only me but all the guys who play at the back."
But Skrtel admits that it hasn't always been this good during his time in England.
A shaky start on the field coupled with a language barrier in training meant that Skrtel had a difficult first month at Anfield.
He said: "I came from Russia and everything was different. The game here was much harder.
"The Premier League is the best competition in the world and it is not easy to settle down. I joined one of the biggest clubs in the world and I needed to learn everything.
"I couldn't speak English so I couldn't understand the lads and that was the first thing I tried to sort out.
"On the pitch I didn't start well either."
Skrtel made his debut as a substitute against Aston Villa in January 2008 before starting his first full game at Anfield in the FA Cup tie against minnows Havant and Waterlooville.
During the match Rafa Benitez's side trailed their non-league opponents twice with Skrtel scoring an own-goal at the Kop end and turning in an unsteady performance.
"After the Havant game I went back to my hotel and I knew it was not my best performance," he said.
"I knew the people were talking about me, saying that I wasn't good enough for Liverpool and that the club had paid a lot of money for me.
"But I knew I could play better and I knew I had to go away and work hard in training. It was important that Rafa said to me: 'Don't worry about this game. Look ahead to the next game, I will give you a chance and you have to show you are a better player'.
"I was thinking about the Sunderland game and I tried to keep my head clear and focus on that. We got a clean sheet and it was important for me. After this I just wanted to try and show that I was good enough to play for Liverpool and I have worked at that."
This season he has partnered Daniel Agger at the heart of the Liverpool defence as Jamie Carragher has been forced to watch from the sidelines.
The pair have started the last 11 league games alongside each other and Skrtel believes that his Danish teammate is one of the best in his position in England.
"Daniel is a great player," Skrtel said. "I see him as one of the best centre backs in the Premier League. It is very important that he is fit now because in the past he has been unlucky with injuries.
"I hope he will be fit for a long time. I enjoying playing alongside him, the partnership with him and the understanding on the pitch with him is working. It is very good and I hope it will continue.
"Of course, we know we have to work and play well if we want to keep our place in the team.
"Carra is a great player and has played here for so long. It is a question for the manager who is going to play. I just try and do my best and if the manager picks me I am happy for that and I will try and play well."
Skrtel scored his first goal for the Reds against Manchester City at Eastlands on 21 November 2009 when the sides drew 2-2.
Looking forward to tonight's League Cup semi-final, he said "I think we can take positives from last week."
"The performance of the team was good but we made three mistakes and conceded three goals. Now we need to play without mistakes and we can get a better result.
"It is a semi-final and I think it will be a totally different game to the last one. We need to work hard, get a good result and then go back to Anfield. For us it is a great opportunity to win a trophy and the final is at Wembley."