Former Liverpool and Slovakia centre-back Martin Skrtel believes his current side Spartak Trnava can reach their target of winning the Slovakian SuperLiga this season.
The 37-year-old, in his first season back with a Slovakian club since his departure from Trencin back in 2004 to Zenit St Petersburg, is currently with Trnava in Malta for the TipSport Cup. He told the Times of Malta that while he is still unsure of his future at the club, the team has what it takes to succeed.
“We will see because my contract expires at the end of the season, so I don’t know what is going to happen in the next season,” Skrtel said.
“But at the moment, I’m enjoying my football and everything in the team and we are preparing for the second part of the season which is going to be tough but we are in a good position.
“We are second in the league table, four points behind the leaders and I think with the quality we have, everything is possible. We are taking it step by step, doing our best and we believe that at the end of the season we will reach our target.”
While the former Slovakia captain has travelled around Europe throughout his career, one would identify playing for English giants Liverpool as being his highest achievement so far.
Asked about his experience and how he rates the current Liverpool side, Skrtel admitted it would be difficult to compare.
“It’s difficult to compare because the (Liverpool) teams are totally different and also the situation around the club is totally different,” he said.
“I’m happy that I was there and that I spent almost nine years there and I’m glad that at the moment the team is doing well.
“For me, Liverpool is one of the best, if not the best team in the world and I hope they will continue in this way and at the end of the season they will win a trophy.”
Spartak Trnava are currently in second place of the TipSport Cup, three points below Czech side Sigma Olomouc, after a win and a loss in their first two matches.
The international tournament is in its fourth consecutive year on the Maltese islands with four high-profile teams gracing the National Stadium between January 18 and January 25.
The four teams that are representing four different countries – a first for the Tipsport Malta Cup – are Spartak Trnva, Denmark’s AaB Aalborg, WSG Tirol, of Austria and leaders Sigma Olomouc.
“I’m happy to be here because the weather in Slovakia is not good enough and we can only play on the artificial turf so to be here on the natural grass is much better,” Skrtel said of the Malta stadium.
The Slovakian side faced Mosta in the first qualifying round of the newly-launched UEFA Europa Conference League back in June, two months before Skrtel signed with the club.
