Martin Skrtel has praised the industrious day-to-day work ethic of his Liverpool team-mate Danny Ings, whom he says works equally as hard in training as he does in games.
The 23-year-old striker has endeared himself to supporters with his immense effort and infectious endeavour in recent weeks, after getting off the mark with Reds a week ago.
Ings scored his first competitive goal with a well-taken effort against Norwich City in the Premier League last weekend before adding a second in as many games against Carlisle United in the Capital One Cup just three days later.
Whilst he was unable to make it three from three in their dramatic 3-2 win over Aston Villa at Anfield, Ings was one of the club's star turnouts as his endless energy and verve saw him combine superbly with Daniel Sturridge - who netted a brace.
Such was his impact, the Kop even sang his name on Saturday afternoon - with the former Burnley striker starting to become a real fan favourite throughout a testing period.
Centre-back glad to have Ings on his side
And Skrtel, who came up against Ings twice last season, has seen plenty of evidence as to why he is earning such popularity on Merseyside.
Speaking about his encounters with the Englishman last season, which the Reds won 1-0 at Turf Moor and 2-0 on home soil, the Slovakian centre-back said facing Ings was "really tough" despite the Reds' No.28 not scoring as an opposing player.
Skrtel added that he "never stopped running and moving" and said that "he was gone" if you switched off for even a few seconds, which has been the same in training since he put pen-to-paper on a deal with the club in June.
The experienced defender, who himself signed a new and improved contract with the club in the summer, said he is "glad" to have Ings on his side because of his "huge" work-rate every day and hopes "he can score lots of goals" throughout the campaign after breaking his duck.
Given Ings' recent performances, he is likely to be rested for the visit of FC Sion in the Europa League on Thursday evening - with the England under-21 international likely to line up alongside Sturridge in the Merseyside Derby away at Everton this Sunday.