The centre-back scored twice as Liverpool hammered title rivals Arsenal 5-1 on Saturday, with his manager hailing the player who looked likely to leave Anfield last summer

Brendan Rodgers has hailed Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel as one of the top defenders in the Premier League following his double against Arsenal.

The 29-year-old had been tipped to leave Anfield in the close-season after falling out of favour last term, but has re-established himself in starting XI this campaign and played a key part in the 5-1 win on Saturday.

“It is big credit to him that he’s been able to prove me right,” Rodgers told reporters. “I brought in a way I wanted to work, on the training field and in games, and for the second half of last season he didn’t feature much.

“He had a choice, he could either throw the toys out the pram, or he could sit down with the manager and the coaching staff and see what areas he needed to improve.

“Now, you see a player with great intelligence in his defence, his use of the ball is composed and he has taken on a real leadership role. His performance levels, consistently, have been of a high level.

“He is up there with the top centre-halves in this league, and I am delighted for him.”

Liverpool, placed fourth in the Premier League, remain three points clear of Tottenham in the race for the final Champions League qualification spot but Rodgers is wary of a slip-up when they visit Fulham in midweek.

“Make no mistake, I want to get in the Champions League, both for the club and for the city,” the Northern Irishman added.

“But the focus is on improving the players, performance level, and you can see continuation in that development.

“We’re still evolving, but I take great pride in seeing development of some of my players. We understand that it will be a difficult game [against Fulham]. There are no easy games, especially away from home.

“We have a belief and a confidence in our game. Hopefully we can take that into Wednesday.”

The Cottagers are concerned about the ability of their safety staff to travel to Wednesday’s match as a result of strike action affecting the London Underground

Fulham say that Wednesday’s game with Liverpool may be postponed as a result of strike action by London Underground staff.

Tube workers have planned a 48-hour walkout for 21.00GMT on Tuesday, reportedly throwing some midweek games in the capital into doubt.

The Londoners are concerned about the ability of their safety staff to get to Craven Cottage, with a further announcement set to be made on Tuesday.

A statement from Fulham read: “Following a number of enquiries regarding how the potential London Underground strike action may affect Wednesday evening’s fixture against Liverpool, the club can confirm that it is currently proceeding on the basis that the game will go ahead.

“However, the club has concerns over the potential impact that the strike may have on the ability of its safety staff to attend the ground in sufficient time and numbers to ensure that it is able to open the ground and effectively operate it, from the time that the gates are open to the public until the departure of all supporters.

“After consulting with the Local Authority and the Metropolitan Police, it has been decided that, if the proposed action is still undetermined at 15.00GMT [on Tuesday] and the club cannot guarantee enough staff are available to attend the ground in sufficient time and numbers, then as a consequence the club would not be able to comply with the terms of its safety certificate and the fixture would be postponed and rescheduled for a future date.

“A further statement will be released at 15.00GMT [on Tuesday] to confirm whether the game will go ahead or be postponed.”

A spokesperson for Liverpool added: “We will inform supporters through our official channels as soon as more information becomes available regarding the fixture.

“The safety and well-being of supporters has to be the paramount concern of everyone involved in this process.”

The goalkeeper has expressed his delight, and surprise, at the manner of Saturday’s win, but insists important games ahead must be the focus if the season is to be a success

Simon Mignolet has revelled in Liverpool’s 5-1 thrashing of Arsenal, but urged his team-mates to “move on” and focus on their end-of-season targets.

A stunning first-half display from Brendan Rodgers’ side saw them storm into a 4-0 lead after just 20 minutes as the Merseyside outfit narrowed the gap on top spot to six points.

Mignolet underlined the importance of Liverpool proving their worth against their title rivals and feels the result will serve them well heading into the final three months of the season.

“It was very important to get the three points because it is very hard to stay in the top four,” Mignolet said.

“With the other fixtures this weekend and the fact that we played at home against Arsenal, it was going to be a very important game.

“We hoped to get a good result and after 20 minutes, it was 4-0. In that sense, it was a bit easier than we expected it to be.

“On the other hand, we’re very pleased that we managed to complete our objective which was to get three points and in the end the score-line obviously reflects that we played well. It’s nice – we’ll take that with us.”

Next up for Liverpool is bottom-of-the-table Fulham, who earned a well-deserved point at Old Trafford on Sunday, and Mignolet knows another positive result is a must to maintain momentum.

“We have to forget about this result. That’s why I said the three points are important but as good as it was, we have to move on and look forward to the next game,” he said.

“We’re happy with the result and we must move on and make sure we keep doing the things we’re doing.”

Simon Mignolet was speaking exclusively to The Sport Review. Read the entire interview by clicking here.