Defender plots return

Martin Skrtel admits he faces a difficult task to force his way back into the Liverpool starting line-up - but insists he is determined to seize upon his next first-team opportunity.

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The Slovakian international has been named as a substitute for Liverpool's last two matches, with Rafa Benitez opting to pair Daniel Agger and Jamie Carragher.

With Sotirios Kyrgiakos also amongst the defensive ranks, Skrtel acknowledges time out of the first team comes with the territory of playing for one of the world's biggest clubs.

However, the 24-year-old plans to use training as his opportunity to impress the boss and attempt to secure a route back into the starting XI.

"When one player plays, another one is on the bench - that's football," he told Liverpoolfc.tv.

"That is the situation for me at the moment, but in my position we have four players.

"It is good to have competition for places because the season is very long, there are a lot of games. You need a lot of players in the squad to cover every position.

"I have played in the past, and now Daniel is playing with Carra. That is a normal situation, so I will keep working hard in training and wait for my chance."

The Reds have recorded victories over Debrecen and Everton in their last two outings to extend an unbeaten run to five matches.

Sunday's 2-0 victory at Goodison Park in particular has bolstered confidence levels at Melwood, according to Skrtel.

He said: "We were very happy after the Everton game because it was a very important match for us. We won, so it was perfect.

"We'll see if it changes our season, but it's given us a boost in confidence.

"After the Debrecen game we were very down because we were knocked out of the Champions League.

"Now we have won two games in a row, our confidence is increasing and I hope it continues."

A trip to Ewood Park to take on Blackburn Rovers is next on the agenda for Liverpool - a clash Sam Allardyce's side head into on a high after booking a place in the semi-finals of the Carling Cup at Chelsea's expense.

Skrtel is anticipating a difficult encounter with the Lancashire club, but the No.37 is eager for the Reds to extend their unbeaten streak and continue to climb the Barclays Premier League table.

"Blackburn are a team who like to play physical football with a lot of long balls and tackling," he said.

"It will be a difficult match, but if we play our game, try to keep the ball and score early, I think we will be okay.

"We have to play our game and focus on ourselves - not Blackburn.

"It's very important because it's the Premier League and we have to try to win every game.

"We've had some bad results so far this season, so we need to change that and every game is very important for us."

Meanwhile, having netted his first Liverpool goal in the recent draw with Manchester City, Skrtel has confessed his desire to find the back of the net more consistently.

It took the defender 65 appearances to break his duck - but he has no intention of waiting a similar length of time for his second Reds goal.

"I was happy to score because I waited a long time for my first goal," he admitted.

"The main thing for me is defending, but scoring a goal is something extra and every player likes to do it.

"I hope in the future I can score more goals for Liverpool."