When he is not tricking his way past defenders out on the pitch, Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho uses his time off the field to study new methods of beating opponents.

The Brazilian has summoned some of his finest skills in recent weeks to help the Reds record a run of just a single defeat in their past 13 outings in all competitions.

Supporters recognised that series of productive displays by selecting Coutinho as the Standard Chartered Player of the Month for December last week.

As the two-year anniversary of his arrival at Anfield from Inter Milan approaches, the maturing No.10 can reflect on considerable progress compared to the young talent that initially joined.

But that does not stop the 22-year-old from using his leisure periods by loading up videos of his revered compatriots to pick up a range of tips in an attempt to improve further.

Coutinho told the official Liverpool FC magazine: "I am a football fanatic. I love everything about it, both playing and watching. During my spare time I try to watch as many games as possible.

"Or if I'm on the internet I'll be looking at videos of players such as Ronaldinho and studying the way he played. He is one of my heroes; Kaka too.

"I try to do all I can on the training pitch to get better every day. I'll watch DVDs of games and try to see where I did something wrong or could have made a better choice.

"I speak to the coaching staff and the manager too. Or I'll chat to my father or my wife about my game because advice from everyone can help."

Though the current campaign has presented a greater number of demands to the Liverpool squad, they enter the second half of 2014-15 with healthy ambitions.

Coutinho's personal approach is to tackle each game, each task and each challenge with positivity, believing that such a mentality can move you closer to end rewards.

"I'm a positive person so that helps," he said. "Sometimes in football you are trying your best but it doesn't happen the way you want it to.

"To get through any bad spell in life or football you have to stick together and work hard. That is how you get to a better moment, so that's how I approach it.

"I always approach games in a positive way because I believe it's important if you want to be successful."