Liverpool defender not happy sitting on bench and feels he has the right to play

Daniel Agger returned to the Liverpool starting lineup against Fulham on Saturday after spending time on the sidelines due to injury and then on his return had to be content with a place on the bench for games against Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Newcastle, West Brom and Arsenal.

During that time Brendan Rodgers had been playing with three central defenders, Sakho, Skrtel and Toure, but for the Fulham game, the Liverpool manager decided to go back to two centre backs and recalled Agger back into the side to partner Skrtel.

When Agger was on the bench, there were a lot of stories going around that the Liverpool vice-captain was not happy about being on the bench and wanted to leave the club. But Agger squashed all that speculation by declaring he was happy and wanted to stay to fight for his place.

Please stop all the tweets about me leaving! I'm not going anywhere! Will be back in the team soon:) Y.N.W.A

— Daniel Agger (@DanielAgger) October 29, 2013

Now that Agger is back in the side, he has declared that he has the right to play.

“I have been waiting for this chance and, as I have said before, you have to take it when you get it,” Agger told TV3+.

“I feel I have got the right to play, and of course I would have liked it to have come earlier. But in the end it is the coach who decides.”

Is Agger not stepping out of line with such a statement? Surely no player has the right to play if the manager does not think you should start. At the end of the day, Brendan Rodgers has the final decision and during the time Agger was on the bench, Rodgers opted to play Sakho, Skrtel and Toure. Those three defenders did not do much wrong to warrant them being dropped for Agger.

Now Agger has managed to work his way back into the starting lineup and he must not think he has the right to play there simply because he is Daniel Agger. He will have to prove himself and play well in order to keep his place as Toure and Sakho are chomping at the bit to get back into the side.