'I showed the desire and gave it my all'
His appearances this season may have been more irregular than in the past, but nothing will stop midfielder Lucas Leiva from providing every ounce of his commitment and desire when he does receive the nod from Brendan Rodgers.
The Brazilian was introduced to the Liverpool side on Wednesday evening as the manager sought to add an experienced foundation to his team for a pivotal Champions League contest against Ludogorets Razgrad in Bulgaria.
Needing the minimum of a point to maintain their ambitions of progressing to the competition's knockout stages, the Reds were on course for all three until a late Georgi Terziev header for the hosts settled the scoreline at 2-2.
Though the final outcome did not bring a victory for the travellers, the performance at the Vasil Levski Stadium was considerably improved on the one that condemned Rodgers' charges to a fourth straight defeat at Crystal Palace last weekend.
Lucas completed the 90 minutes and offered an industrious contribution on a difficult pitch and against an obdurate opponent in midweek, and now hopes it was enough to earn himself greater game time in the weeks ahead.
"When you play, you feel that you can help the team and you feel better," the 27-year-old commented. "I have just got to give my all to the team.
"This is my eighth season here, I have played more than 250 games and that means a lot. I tried to show against Ludogorets that my commitment will always be there.
"The manager probably thought he needed to play players who could be committed to the cause - and I am. I think I showed I have the desire and when I put on the Liverpool shirt I give my all, and that is sometimes what fans want.
"I just have to try to take my chances - like the Real Madrid game - and although Ludogorets wasn't a brilliant performance in terms of possession of the ball, I helped the team defend."
The No.21 added: "It is a difficult moment for the team but we need to stay positive. We didn't play fantastic football but we showed a lot of character and that is the only way at the moment we will get back to winning ways.
"We are still alive in the Champions League so I think the confidence will slowly get better and the flow of the team will get better, like last year. In the dressing room on Wednesday night it was a lot more positive. We showed good desire."