Rodgers: Martin is gaining confidence
Brendan Rodgers has praised the recent form of Martin Skrtel – and insisted the centre-back is brimming with confidence following his comeback to the side.
Skrtel was used intermittently throughout the second half of the 2012-13 campaign - and he began this season on the sidelines.
However, the Slovakian returned for the Reds' 1-0 win over Manchester United in early September and has remained a constant in the starting XI since.
On Saturday at Anfield, he made his seventh consecutive Barclays Premier League start in the 4-1 rout over West Brom, thwarting the Baggies' powerful forward Victor Anichebe throughout.
"I thought Skrtel was brilliant against West Brom," Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo.
"Anichebe is a real handful, and we spoke before the game about that.
"I've seen him cause a lot of problems for defenders with his strength and power. Martin dealt with him really well.
"I think the three at the back allows him to play to his strengths. It allows him to defend, and it simplifies his game when we have the ball.
"I think in the run of games he has had, he has gained in confidence. I've recognised and acknowledged with him that he is playing at a really good level."
While Luis Suarez's sublime hat-trick and Daniel Sturridge's sensational chip rightly stole the headlines at the weekend, Rodgers was also keen to apportion praise to other players in the side.
One man he singled out in his post-match briefing was Lucas Leiva, who had more touches of the (87) and played more passes (69) than any other player on the pitch.
The manager explained how adjusting the system to make Lucas the sole controlling midfielder - with Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson bombing on ahead - allowed the Reds to dominate the game.
"It's something that I have always wanted to do. When you play that system [with three at the back and two strikers], that is how you have to do it," he said.
"Lucas was out last week, and Joe Allen wasn't fit enough to play that controller role, so we had to go with what we had.
"When you play two controllers and one in front of them, you don't cover the pitch, you don't fan out well enough, so when the ball gets switched, you're open.
"If you look at the games we've played, we've had quite a few shots against us. But when you flip the triangle and play with the one controller, it pushes the other two midfielders up the pitch more, so they can press it better.
"Then when the ball does get switched, they're in position to press again.
"It's something I've always known, and always wanted to do, but I can only deal with the players I have available.
"We're getting better. We've got wins this year without playing fluently, but Saturday was probably as good as we have been."