'Mild man Skrtel finds aggression'
Steve Clarke believes a more aggressive attitude is helping Martin Skrtel enjoy his best season to date for Liverpool.
The 27-year-old defender has been one of our most consistent performers during 23 appearances this year.
Opta stats show he has won 86 per cent of tackles attempted and prevailed in 78 per cent of aerial battles.
Skrtel is also making more of an impact in the opposition box, scoring in games against Bolton and Aston Villa.
While the Slovakian is one of the quieter members of the squad off the pitch, on it he is displaying the kind of leadership traditionally provided by Jamie Carragher.
Clarke told Liverpoolfc.tv: "It's a natural progression as you develop as a player and the aggression is starting to come out on the pitch. He's showing good aggression in both boxes this year.
"He's a good lad, he wants to learn. He's very gentle, very quiet. He's not as aggressive as he looks on the pitch. A lot of players I've known over the years can be very aggressive on the pitch but mild and polite off it - Martin is one of those.
"But as players develop, they start to grow into a role in the team. Martin has embraced that responsibility this year and he's certainly improved a lot.
"He is having, I'd imagine, his best season at Liverpool, but we're only half way through and he's got a lot of games ahead of him.
"He's in possession, you'd say he was one of the first-choice centre-backs at the moment, but he knows there are a number of players pushing behind him if he doesn't keep the same high standards.
"When you have a good squad, and you have everybody pushing and competing with each other, you tend to get the kind of performances that Martin is giving."
Liverpool travel to Bolton on Saturday, where Skrtel and co will face former teammate David Ngog, who left Anfield last summer after struggling to establish himself in the first team.
So does Clarke think the Frenchman will be out to prove a point?
"That's probably a question to ask David," he said. "He's certainly got nothing to prove to us. He was at Liverpool a long time, he came here as a developing player and he's showing that he's developed into a good Premier League player.
"It was David's choice. He wanted to go and try something different and Liverpool were good enough to let him go."