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Cape Town - Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes a stint on the
substitutes bench will do summer signing Dejan Lovren a whole world of
good.
The Reds boss has left the £20m signing on the bench for the club's last three fixtures, while fellow new recruits Emre Can, Lazar Markovic and Alberto Moreno have also featured sparingly.
And Rodgers insists that he will not pick players based on reputations or transfer fees, with their form his only concern.
The Northern Irishman pointed to Martin Skrtel's re-emergence as a crucial player after being consigned to the bench for a lengthy period.
"Dejan has been brilliant. He has taken it like a man," Football411 quotes Rodgers as saying.
"He is working hard in training. He knows he will get an opportunity and hopefully he can then take it.
"Picking on form has always been the case and all the players understand that.
"If you look at Martin Skrtel as an example, he didn't play so much for me during my first year here.
"But we spent a lot of time that season talking about the strengths he had in his game and the areas where he needed to improve.
"After that period, once he got into the team, he was absolutely fantastic. He has been a real rock for us.
"I am sure that Dejan will be exactly the same. Sometimes you need that little bit of time out of the team. I have absolutely no doubt that he will be a very good player for us."
The Reds boss has left the £20m signing on the bench for the club's last three fixtures, while fellow new recruits Emre Can, Lazar Markovic and Alberto Moreno have also featured sparingly.
And Rodgers insists that he will not pick players based on reputations or transfer fees, with their form his only concern.
The Northern Irishman pointed to Martin Skrtel's re-emergence as a crucial player after being consigned to the bench for a lengthy period.
"Dejan has been brilliant. He has taken it like a man," Football411 quotes Rodgers as saying.
"He is working hard in training. He knows he will get an opportunity and hopefully he can then take it.
"Picking on form has always been the case and all the players understand that.
"If you look at Martin Skrtel as an example, he didn't play so much for me during my first year here.
"But we spent a lot of time that season talking about the strengths he had in his game and the areas where he needed to improve.
"After that period, once he got into the team, he was absolutely fantastic. He has been a real rock for us.
"I am sure that Dejan will be exactly the same. Sometimes you need that little bit of time out of the team. I have absolutely no doubt that he will be a very good player for us."
