Aly Cissokho has revealed just how much he is loving life at Anfield and reiterated his desire to impress enough to stay beyond the end of his season-long loan.

The Valencia left-back has settled well into L4 and deputised in recent weeks for the injured Jose Enrique.

Liverpool's No.20 is genuinely humbled at the opportunity he has to wear the Liver Bird on his chest and is therefore determined to make the most of it.

"It's a great source of pride for me every day to be able to play with players like this and to represent a big club like Liverpool," Cissokho told Liverpoolfc.com.

"It's a source of pride for all the coaches I had as a youth player. Of course, I am very happy to be here and I hope to stay here.

"It's a great city. We have a great training complex here, and we all have a lot placed at our disposal to get the best from each player, and that's a good thing for me."

Cissokho is under no illusions, though, regarding the size of the task he faces to try and hold down a regular place in Brendan Rodgers' starting XI and keep Enrique on the sidelines.

He said: "To start with, when you want to play in a team like Liverpool, you have to expect that there's going to be high level of competition for each place, whether in central defence, midfield or in attack.

"Everyone in the team is disappointed not to be competing in European competition, and every player wants to give his best to ensure that the club is up there in the qualifying positions at the end of the season.

"The season is long, and there are a lot of matches to come. The coach makes, and will continue to make, his decisions, and it's important to respect them so that the team can be in the best shape each Saturday.

"I'd say the English championship resembles the leagues I've known to date - very physical, high tempo, as in France, and like in Spain and Portugal, a lot of intensity, as with here, combined with technical football.

"It's very engaged, and it's non-stop. It's surprising to see that even with those teams in mid-table, as well as those nearer the top of the table, there's never a let up in the tempo, and they all play at the maximum level right up to the last minute of the match."

Cissokho was also keen to pay tribute to fellow countryman Mamadou Sakho for the defender's support in helping him settle quickly into life on Merseyside.

He said: "Mamadou has helped me a lot. We know, as both of us arrived at the club at a similar time, we both have to adapt to the team as a whole."