Skrtel: Room for improvement

Brendan Rodgers pulled no punches when reflecting on the Reds' rearguard performance in the 3-2 defeat against Udinese on Thursday night, insisting it had to improve.

It's a view shared by Skrtel, who admits his own form is also not at peak level.

"For me as a defender, it's not good because the aim for the team, and especially for defenders, is to get a clean sheet," the Slovakian told Liverpoolfc.com.

"Even in the games we've played well, we've still conceded goals from a mistake or something that wasn't good enough. We have to improve and work on it.

"I don't think we have changed or we have become bad defenders. We know what to do on the pitch.

"But there are always some small things [we can work on]. In the game against Norwich, it was a lack of concentration. We made small mistakes and then we conceded the goals, so we need to be concentrating for the whole 90 minutes. Then we will improve.

"We want to improve our clean-sheet record. That is the aim before every single game. If you keep a clean sheet and score a goal, you win the game, so we want to work on that."

Liverpool are without a clean sheet since shutting out Hearts at Tynecastle on August 23 - a record Skrtel insists the Reds are working hard to rectify at Melwood every day.

He stated: "I believe we will tighten up. We are confident in ourselves on the pitch and we try to improve in training every day. We work hard on the defence to try and get the clean sheets.

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"It's not easy to keep a clean sheet because you play against strong sides, but we have done it in the past - and we can do it in the future as well."

Skrtel will hope to make his 10th appearance of the season when Liverpool take on Stoke City at Anfield on Sunday.

Much like the team's own defensive form, the 27-year-old feels he has room for improvement.

"I know it [his form] could be better," he said. "There have been a few games in which I have made a mistake.

"I know about it and I am trying to improve in training every day. I am working hard on my form to try and get it back to as I had it last season."

Stoke journey to L4 this weekend in a mid-table position having garnered seven points from their opening six matches.

Five-goal ex-Red Peter Crouch has been an influential figure for the Potters so far this term, and Skrtel is anticipating a tough afternoon.

He said: "Everybody knows what to expect from games against Stoke. It's going to be a physical game, so we need to be ready for it, deal with it, play our game, try to score goals and win the game.

It's not comfortable to play against players like Crouch, for example, but I try to do my best. Sometimes you can do it, sometimes you can't, but I always try my best.

"Everyone knows he is a big guy who is tough in the air and a good player. He is tall but also good with the ball, so we have to be careful and keep an eye on him for 90 minutes.

"After the game at Norwich, we need to get another three points at Anfield as well."

Despite the midweek defeat to Udinese, Skrtel claims confidence remains high amongst the squad, particularly following last weekend's 5-2 victory at Norwich City.

"Confidence is alright because performances against United, Norwich and Udinese in the first half have been good," he said. "We have to forget about what happened in midweek, think about Stoke and try to get the three points. That is the most important thing right now.

"For us, every single game is important. We're just going from game to game and trying to get as many points as we can. The game against Stoke is important because after it is the international break, so we want to get the three points and go higher in the league table.

"The key to winning is to deal with the fight and play our game. I think we are a better team than them, so we need to show that on the pitch by scoring the goals and keeping a clean sheet."