Babel: I know what I have to do

Ryan Babel is hoping he can now display his best form for Liverpool following talks with manager Rafa Benitez.

The Dutchman has struggled to make a sustained impact on Merseyside since joining the club from Ajax in 2007 and was tipped for a January exit.

He revealed on his Twitter account last month that he had been dropped from the squad to face Stoke before subsequently apologising for his actions.

On Sunday, Babel was rewarded with his first start in the Premier League for three months as he played 75 minutes of the 0-0 draw at Manchester City.

And, following discussions with Benitez, the 23-year-old believes he is now aware of what he needs to do in order to be a success at Liverpool.

"I have had a good talk with the manager and I know what I have to do," said Babel. "That is what I am going to concentrate on.

"I just have to try to be patient, keep working hard and doing my best."

Babel will hope for a second successive start in Thursday's Europa League tie against Unirea Urziceni and is optimistic Liverpool can protect a one-goal advantage from the first leg.

He added: "Unirea may not be a well known team, but the fact they are playing in Europe at this stage shows they are a good team.

"I think it's all about how you prepare yourself and as long as we do that then we should be fine.

"We have definitely improved over the last few weeks with a lot of clean sheets. The defence has been the basis of our better results.

"Slowly it gives more confidence and that is something that we have to try to keep hold of and hopefully we can be positive as we look forward."

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.