Skrtel inspired by six-into-three

The Slovakian is one of half-a-dozen centre-halves at Brendan Rodgers' disposal following the summer arrivals of Tiago Ilori, Mamadou Sakho and Kolo Toure.

After enjoying his finest campaign in Liverpool colours during 2011-12 - a season which concluded with the fans' Player of the Year accolade - the No.37 found himself on the substitutes' bench at the outset of 2013.

His position hadn't changed when the Reds kicked off in August either, only for an unfortunate Toure injury to hand Skrtel an unexpected chance against Manchester United.

The 28-year-old grasped the opportunity gladly, helping his team to a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory, and has since been selected for every single match by Rodgers.

"After last season I worked very hard during pre-season to try to get back into the team," he explained in the latest edition of the official Liverpool FC magazine.

"But then I picked up a knee injury towards the end of pre-season, so it wasn't easy for me. But I tried to stay positive. I was saying to myself: just wait for your chance.

"I recovered well and got that chance against United. I felt it was an opportunity to prove to people and to the manager that I'm able to play.

"Of course our strong start to the season helped too. As a player it is always better for you when you are going into a team that is doing well.

"Now I'm just trying hard to keep myself in the team and that's not easy with six centre-backs competing for two or three places."

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In his last seven appearances, Skrtel has regularly been positioned at the centre of a three-man backline - a switch in system he feels provides several benefits, individually and collectively.

"We have played a few games with this system now so we will see whether we'll carry it on in the future," the defender added.

"To be honest, it is not a big change for the centre-backs because as a defender you have the same tasks to fulfil whether you are playing as one of a pair or as one of three central defenders. You still have to mark the striker and fight to win the tackles.

"But it can be an advantage having three centre-backs in the box when crosses come in, and of course the system also allows the full-backs to push on.

"That means we can move the ball better and move into space too. Of course, the other advantage for centre-halves is that it allows more of us to play.

"Now we have six centre-backs all wanting to play so it's up to the manager to decide. That's good for the club and good for us too because it pushes you to work very hard every day. It pushes you as a footballer."

Skrtel believes an increased level of competition throughout the Liverpool squad will be crucial as the side attempts to build on a start which has earned second place in the Barclays Premier League after 11 matches.

"A good start was something we targeted and prepared for. But the season is very long and we just go from game to game trying to get as many points as possible," he said.

"Of course you want to win every single match but that's not realistic. So we'll be aiming to get as many points as we can and then see where we are.

"As the games come and go it's inevitable there will be injuries and so on, which is why we have a big squad. We have a 25-man squad and every one of those players is in contention to be starting games.

"All of us believe that this season we can stay towards the top positions and get back into Europe. To play in the Champions League is the dream for every player.

"We are working hard every single day to achieve that and I hope that at the end of the season we'll be happy."