Martin Skrtel has expressed his frustration at the recent lack of starting opportunities that he has had at Liverpool.

The Slovakian international had been a regular in the lineup up until January's match against Manchester United.

Since then, the 28-year-old has been omitted by manager Brendan Rodgers, who has preferred to use the experienced Jamie Carragher instead.

"It all happened after our match with Man United in the middle of January. Before that match, we had won twice 3-0 in the league - at QPR and at home we beat Sunderland," he told reporters. "In Manchester we lost 2-1 but I think that particularly in the second half we played very well. But [Rodgers] told me we had lost the organisation of play in the defensive line and that this would be the reason why I would not play in the following matches.

"I don't know which fixtures he spoke about because we had kept a clean sheet twice in a row and we won both matches. Also, we did not disappoint in the game against United.

"[Rodgers] selects the lineup and picks the players who will be on the pitch. At the moment I'm not among the first 11. It makes me sad but the coach has decided this and I have to respect it. I have to wait, what else can I do?"

Skrtel joined the Reds in January 2008 from Zenit St Petersburg.