DANIEL AGGER believes he is reaping the rewards of a new fitness regime after recording the most successive Premier League starts of his entire Liverpool career.

Agger celebrated making his 13th consecutive top-flight appearance by scoring the only goal in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Southampton.

That it was his longest such sequence underlines the injury problems that have dogged the 27-year-old since arriving from Brondby nearly seven years ago.

Agger has previously spent months on the sidelines with a variety of ailments, including broken ribs, a serious knee injury, a niggling back problem and a broken metatarsal.

And the Denmark international admits he is now learning the lessons of better preparation compared to previous years.

“It’s about being on the pitch, not outside it,” said Agger. “The past year has been good for me.

“You learn all the time when you’re playing football. I definitely do some different things now compared to a few years ago. I try to look after myself better and it’s helping

“It’s about the way you train, the way you work in the gym, the way you recovery – that’s the most important thing.

“I’ve been helped by the team around me – the physios and the manager. They’ve been giving me the rest and the time to recover.

“It’s always difficult in this league because there are so many games so you don’t get much time to recover. You have to use that time you have to recover well.”

While Agger has appeared in only two of Liverpool’s 11 cup games this season, he would have been an ever-present in the Premier League but for his debatable red card in the opening-day defeat at West Bromwich Albion.