Ryan Babel: I Prefer Playing Under Roy Hodgson Than Rafael Benitez

Ryan Babel insists that he would like to remain at Liverpool, while praising Roy Hodgson's style of management.

The Dutchman arrived at the club in 2007 after the Reds had carved out a €16.5 million deal with Ajax for his services.

But his stay on Merseyside saw him being only fringe player under former boss Rafael Benitez, with whom he shared a frosty relationship that saw him wanting to leave the club.

Hodgson's approachable nature, however, appears to have had a positive impact on the player.

"It's not up to me whether I see my future here, it's up to Liverpool," Babel said, according to The Mirror.

"This is my fourth season so it's up to them what they do. I have one more year at the end of this season left on my contract and I would like to stay.

"It has been frustrating here as a player, but it's not changed my loyalty towards the club. It's more with the manager. The club is fantastic. But if a manager doesn't like you it's between you and the manager.

"The club is amazing and there are still a lot of fans who believe in me so that gives me a goal. They [Hodgson and Benitez] are different. The current manager does things differently, and maybe that suits me better.

"When he arrived he was closer with the team, talking to players, and maybe that gives the players a boost to respond better.

"He's more involved day to day with the players. He does things differently. Under Rafa the assistant managers took a lot of responsibility but that is different now.

"I hope this country hasn't seen the best of me yet. The maximum number of games I've played in a row is four and it's difficult for any player to find consistency if you're not playing every week."

Benitez deployed Babel largely on the flanks, but his successor has chosen to play him in his preferred position as a striker.

He said: "I think first of all I'm just enjoying the opportunity to play and I am trying to make the most of it.

"But that position [central] suits me a bit better because you can use most of your energy up front. Maybe on the wing you have to defend a bit more and maybe that suits me less.

"The striker role, together with someone else, is pretty good for me."

In the recent Europa League game against Utrecht, Babel was supposed to start alongside Fernando Torres. But the Dutchman was surprised that the boss chose to go back on his word and keep the Spaniard out of the starting line-up instead.

"I only found Fernando wasn't playing an hour before the game," he said. "The day before the game we were working together. I've never played up front with Fernando and I was looking forward to it but maybe the manager wanted to give him some rest."