Skrtel: I know what I need to do
Martin Skrtel is determined to force his way back into the Liverpool starting line-up - and plans to go the extra mile in training to stake his claim.
The Slovakian featured in the first-leg defeat against Zenit in the Europa League round of 32 on Thursday night; however, it was the centre-back's first start in four games in all competitions.
Brendan Rodgers opted to pair Jamie Carragher with Daniel Agger for the three previous Barclays Premier League encounters against Arsenal, Manchester City and West Brom.
However, far from being deflated about his league absence from the side, Skrtel is keen to reinstate himself as a first-team regular.
"It has not been easy being out of the side because for the past two years I have been playing in almost every single game," he told Liverpoolfc.com.
"But I think it's part of your football life and it's up to the manager who plays.
"I've been on the bench recently so I'll just continue to work hard in training and try to show that I can start again. I'm waiting for my chance.
"I always work hard in training but I think now I need to work even harder to try and show I'm ready for the games. We have 25 players here and everyone wants to play. Not everyone can start."
Skrtel also offered an honest assessment of the team's defensive performance so far this season and emphasised his belief that there is room for improvement within the ranks.
"Our defending this season could be better," he admitted. "Before the season we said we wanted 15 clean sheets and we are quite far from achieving that now. We know we have to improve. We'll work on that every day at Melwood and hopefully we can improve before the end of the season.
"There are still a lot of games to play and three months until the end of the season. Our target is still the same - we want to reach the top four and there is still a chance for that. We'll fight for that and hope that we can get there."