Whilst disappointed in second place, Martin Skrtel has insisted that had the reds been able to call upon Fernando Torres for more than the 23 games he was involved in, the reds would have had enough to have displaced Manchester United for the title.
Speaking to the Slovakian press, Skrtel said:
“This season has not been the most successful one, but nor has it been bad.
“We will most likely finish second but I am convinced we could have finished higher.
“Why? Because in the games against Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal we have not been beaten and the first two teams mentioned we have beaten both at home and away from home. If there was a table of the teams from the top four, I think we would have been in first place.
“Unfortunately, we dropped too many points against teams from the lower part of the table. We did not manage to win against teams which defended with nine or ten men.”
“Gerrard and Torres were injured during the season, and not just once. When two players of such quality are out, it is always a blow.”
Skrtel insists that coming so close this season provides massive incentive for the reds to ensure they go one better next time around.
“Each player, coach and fan would love to see their team just winning and being at the top of the table. That is not always possible, though.
“Of course, we are disappointed by not claiming the championship title, but to finish runners-up is also very nice.
“If we can bring the positive things into the next season, then I believe we will finally win the league.
“On the other hand, we must also work on removing the main drawbacks. Coach Benitez will surely think up something new, which will help us improve.”
Skrtel himself has been restricted to just 20 Premier League games for Liverpool this season after suffering an unpleasant injury away at Manchester City.
I actually think the turning point of our season was when Skrtel was injured. He was the backbone of our defence and we were on a good run, until he go injured. And the othe rpoint he made was a replacement or partner for Torres, I wish we’d kept Crouch.