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Brendan Rodgers has hailed the re-emergence of Martin Skrtel as a mainstay of his Liverpool side.

The Reds boss was delighted with the Slovakian centre-back’s performance in Saturday’s 4-1 thrashing of West Brom.

It was Skrtel’s eighth successive start and Rodgers believes he’s flourishing in a back three alongside Kolo Toure and Mamadou Sakho.“I thought Skrtel was brilliant against West Brom,” Rodgers told the ECHO.

“Victor Anichebe is a real handful, and we spoke before the game about that.

“I've seen him cause a lot of problems for defenders with his strength and power. Martin dealt with him really well.

“I think the three at the back allows him to play to his strengths. It allows him to defend, and it simplifies his game when we have the ball.

“I think in the run of games he has had, he has gained in confidence. I've recognised and acknowledged with him that he is playing at a really good level.”

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It’s been some turnaround for Skrtel who looked set to leave Anfield back in the summer after falling down the pecking order.

The 28-year-old started just two Premier League games between mid-January and May.

However, he has forced his way back into Rodgers’ plans and his current form is keeping vice-captain Daniel Agger on the sidelines.

The Denmark international has been relegated to bench duty for the past four league matches after recovering from a rib injury.

“I've always tried to show my fairness with players,” Rodgers said.

“People say ‘do you not like him?’ but I always say that, no, it is about performance levels. If you're playing well, you will play. If not, you might be in and out of the team.

“I've got an international captain, this club's vice-captain, sitting on the bench, but that's because I like to think I'm fair. If people are playing well, they play.

“That (Agger on the bench) sums up how well Martin is playing. He's been outstanding.”

Hat-trick hero Luis Suarez and strike partner Daniel Sturridge took the plaudits after Saturday’s game but it was Liverpool’s dominance in midfield which enabled them to boss the contest.

Rodgers believes the Reds benefited from the tactical switch which saw Lucas Leiva deployed as the only holding midfielder with Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson operating further forward.

“It's something that I have always wanted to do. When you play that system (with three at the back and two strikers), that is how you have to do it,” Rodgers said.

“Lucas was out last week, and Joe Allen wasn't fit enough to play that controller role, so we had to go with what we had.

“When you play two controllers and one in front of them, you don't cover the pitch, you don't fan out well enough, so when the ball gets switched, you're open.

“If you look at the games we've played, we've had quite a few shots against us. But when you flip the triangle and play with the one controller, it pushes the other two midfielders up the pitch more, so they can press it better. Then when the ball does get switched, they're in position to press again.

“It's something I've always known, and always wanted to do, but I can only deal with the players I have available.“We're getting better. We've got wins this year without playing fluently, but Saturday was probably as good as we have been.”