Martin Skrtel happy to throw himself into the skirmish

Jun 25 2008 by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post

Liverpool FC's Martin Skrtel _320

MARTIN SKRTEL has pinpointed his liking for the physical battle as the secret of his early Anfield success.

The Slovakian joined Liverpool for £6million from Zenit St Petersburg in January and quickly established himself as a key man in Rafael Benitez’s back four.

His performances helped take Liverpool to the brink of another European Cup final as – despite a nervy full debut against Havant & Waterlooville in the FA Cup fourth round – he adapted to the physical English style with little fuss.

“That’s just the way I play,” said Skrtel. “I am a defender and sometimes that means you have to put your body on the line to prevent an opposition player scoring a goal.

“I like tackling. It is one of my main strengths. And I can hear the supporters cheering and getting excited when I go in for a 50/50 challenge.

“It means a lot to me because these are early days in my Anfield career. To know that I have made an impact is pleasing because I am in a new country and playing a new style of football.

“The English style suits me very well. I enjoy physical battles with forwards and I have had plenty of those in England so far.

“I am sure over the course of my stay here in Liverpool, which I hope will be a long one, I will have many more.

“And every game in this country is tough. There is no such thing as an easy game in the Premier League.”

The 23-year-old has also found it easy to settle into life off the pitch on Merseyside.

Despite being an integral part of Zenit’s Russian league title win before they went on to claim the UEFA Cup after Skrtel’s departure, he feels he has never been more of a household tame than he currently he is in Liverpool.

“I think because of the skinhead and my accent I am not too hard to pick out on the street,” he added.

“From the bits of conversation I understand between us, I have to say that the fans have been amazing to me.

“I have signed more autographs since touching down in Merseyside than in the rest of my professional career.

“But, for the support I have had individually, and that we get as a team, signing some autographs is not a problem.”

Meanwhile, Leeds United manager Gary McAllister has contacted his former club to arrange for Krisztian Nemeth and Astrit Ajdarevic to join up with the club for pre-season training, with a view to signing both players on loan.