Divock Origi says his self-belief and hunger helped him to remain positive in his time outside of the first-team as he helped Liverpool to a 2-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday.

The Belgian replaced the injured Philippe Coutinho after 34 minutes for his first substantial Premier League minutes since playing the final half-an-hour of September's win at Chelsea.

All of the striker's starts so far this season have come in the EFL Cup, where he has scored two goals in three games, but Origi showed no shortage of sharpness after coming on against Sunderland.

While the Reds took their time to force the breakthrough, it was the 24-year-old who finally sent a wave of relief across L4 in the 75th minute.

Cutting onto his right foot on the left-side of the area, Origi's cross-shot got the better of the Black Cats' goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to find the bottom corner at the Kop end.

James Milner's stoppage-time penalty later ensured the full three points against David Moyes' men as Jürgen Klopp's menextended their unbeaten league run to 11 games.

And Origi said that he hopes to continue contributing to the team after netting his first league goal of the campaign.

Origi: I used my hunger and belief to improve

He told Liverpoolfc.com that the message relayed to him throughout the campaign was "to keep patient" and "be ready" for whenever the team needed him.

Origi said: "I think it's not easy [not to play], especially as a young player. I was so hungry to play. I started this season with a lot of hunger and I just had to be patient."

He explained that while "sometimes it can happen that you don't play in the moment", he "always believed" in his own qualities, adding: "And so did the club, so did the supporters, so did the manager."

Origi also said that he "used all this hunger to improve myself" and in order to "stay ready for the moment you have to help the team."

"I'm so happy that I could help the team," he continued. "I hope everything will go well this season."

The Reds' No.27 added that, upon his introduction, he "just wanted to play my game" and added: "This is my game, when I come in on the left-hand side it's one of my strong points, [getting] one-on-one and shooting. Of course I was very happy when it went in and it helped the team a lot, so I'm so happy."

Origi said that in games such as their win over Sunderland, in which visiting teams set up so as not to concede, they "have to stay patient" and "have to stay focused" and not concede possession cheaply.

He said also that Klopp's men knew that they "have to create something" and declared that "every player played his part" in the win over Sunderland, explaining that his part was "to play on my qualities" as he called himself "thankful" to score and for the team to have "won deservedly."

I have the quality to start for Liverpool, declares Origi

However, Origi expressed his disppointment that Coutinho had to go off injured in order for him to come on against Sunderland.

However, if the Brazilian's lay-off is serious, the Belgium international is confident that there is sufficient depth within the Liverpool squad to cope in his absence.

He called it "unfortunate" that Coutinho was forced off "because everyone knows how good a person he is" and because "he was in top form."

Origi hoped that his teammate's issue is "not too bad" but added: "I'm sure he will come back stronger and I've always said that we have a strong group. Everybody has to help each other."

He vowed that he is "always ready" to be called upon and insisted he "can help the team a lot this year" and that he believes he has "the qualities to start in this team."

The front-man also said that he has to "work hard and show it on the pitch" and accepted that "not everything goes well every day", but declared that "when it goes well, you have to enjoy it and keep on improving."