標題: SKRTEL: I AM NOW ONE OF THE LADS [打印本頁] 作者: puma8811 時間: 2008-9-25 05:58 PM 標題: SKRTEL: I AM NOW ONE OF THE LADS
Liverpool's defensive strongman Martin Skrtel has declared he now feels like one of the lads in Rafa Benitez's starting XI.
The Slovakian international arrived from Zenit St Petersburg in January and quickly won over the fans with a series of impressive displays.
But Skrtel admits that he struggled to adjust to life on Merseyside and can now feel the benefit of a pre-season training in his all-round game.
"I picked things up relatively quickly when I came into the team in January, but you don't have the chance to train intensively during that part of the season," Skrtel told Liverpool FC's official magazine.
"We were playing most midweeks as well as most weekends so you cannot do much on the training pitch except recover, keep yourself fit and focus on your next opponent.
"But this summer I feel I have settled more into the team.
"Having a pre-season alongside my team-mates has been an enormous help. If I have started the season well then this is probably the main reason for it.
"Now I can say that on the pitch I am one of the lads."
The 23-year-old also confessed he still has day-to-day problems with the language barrier, but admits to feeling a real sense of belonging at Anfield.
"I practise the language all the time," adds Skrtel, who has now found the net six times for Slovakia.
"I understand what a lot of people are saying, but I am one of the quieter figures in the locker room because I do not yet have the vocabulary I would like to have.
"It is not a problem on the pitch. Maybe it would be better if I could understand what Jamie Carragher is saying – but I know when he is on at me.
"But I still feel as one with the group. On the field we all stand together and we all fight for the same cause.
"I am happy at Liverpool, I feel like I belong here. I feel that I have improved a lot since I came here and I will continue to grow as the season progresses."
