Steven Caulker feels that Liverpool were unlucky to not get the victory over West Ham United in their FA Cup fourth round clash on Saturday.
The centre-back, on loan from Queens Park Rangers, says that he is looking forward to being given more first team opportunities, starting with the replay.
Caulker partnered Dejan Lovren at the heart of the Anfield defence in the 24-year-old's first start for the club, as manager Jürgen Klopp made ten changes from his side's win over Stoke City in the League Cup on Tuesday.
The home-side had the greater chances in a not-so-classic encounter but the goalkeeping from back-up Darren Randolph had the biggest say on the game, with the 28-year-old a constant roadblock to the Liverpool forwards - forcing a second meeting next month.
We created enough, insists towering defender
In a bold showing, Caulker was adamant that his side deserved the victory, citing that the chances his teammates created.
"I felt like we created enough chances to win the game," said the Englishman, who rued that "unfortunately they didn't go in."
The defender chose not to be negative, remaining optimistic about the goalless draw. With many younger players, such as Man of the Match midfielder Cameron Brannagan, featuring in the contest Caulker used this point as a positive in a game of few.
He said the replay is "another game to look forward to" and declared that there were "a few boys in the team" who "stepped up" including Caulker himself.
The defender rightly highlighted his side's chances as Liverpool had more than double the amount of shots of the Hammers. Christian Benteke had the pick of bunch, but a triple save from Randolph kept his side firmly in the match.
19-year-old Brannagan was the pick of the bunch on the night, with the youngster making a huge step up to the first-team and highlighting the importance of giving youth a chance.
Caulker on his first Liverpool start
With his first start in a red shirt completed, Caulker was positive about his performance feeling his side matched West Ham and "dealt with" the occasion "quite well."
This was the player's first FA Cup appearance since his parent club Queens Park Rangers were humiliated by Sheffield United at home in a 3-0 dubbing last January.
He added that "as a team" they played well and insisted they were "the slightly better side" on the evening and can consider themselves "unfortunate not to win."
Defender on Klopp's rotation policy
The defender gave his thoughts on his manager's gamble to alter his squad for the West Ham, as he said it was a "good decision" to give the younger players a chance and rest his senior options.
He said that with "two big league games coming up", the idea to "rest a few on the main starters and keep them fresh for Tuesday night" was a "good decision" because those league fixtures will be "tough" games, according to the Englishman.
Caulker will likely feature in the FA Cup replay against West Ham but will be hoping to get more minutes in the upcoming fixtures in order to try to secure a permanent deal, with him currently on loan on Merseyside until the end of the current season.