Jordan Henderson remains relaxed about his current lack of starts for Liverpool.
Henderson has only featured from the outset in one of the Reds’ first five games following his part in England’s run to the World Cup semi-final over the summer.
James Milner, Georginio Wijnaldum and summer signing Naby Keita have all started ahead of the midfielder for last season’s Champions League finalists.
But Liverpool captain Henderson has no concerns about his position as Jurgen Klopp’s side prepare to welcome Paris Saint-Germain to Anfield on Tuesday.
He said: “I came back later than everybody else so I can’t just expect to come straight back in.
“The lads have worked so hard in pre-season, you can see the benefits already – how fit they are, the rhythm that they’ve got from playing games, they’re at a very, very high level.
“You see that in the performances, they’ve been fantastic, winning games. So it’s normal for me that I’m not playing, I can accept it.
“It just means I’ve got to keep working harder, keep improving, and take my chance when it comes.
“I totally respect the players around me, how well they’re playing, the manager as well, he always decides and he’s always right so I’ll just respect his decision.
“I’ve basically tried to use this period to refresh my body, refresh my mind, because last season was long, especially with the World Cup. It was enjoyable and in the end ended in disappointment.
“But it was a long season and this is going to be another long season for us hopefully with a lot of games so I need to make sure that I’m ready and I’m using this period to be as ready as possible.”