NOBODY at Anfield needs reminding about the importance of taking your chances. For longer than anyone care remember, Liverpool have been struggling to make the most of their opportunities.

But during a 20 minute blitz in the second half on Saturday against Wigan Athletic the Reds were as close to clinical as they have been for months.

Jose Enrique even got in on the scoring act and bagged his first ever Premier League goal.

But the biggest triumph of Enrique’s afternoon came not in taking his chance directly in front of goal but his efforts up and down the left wing.

The arrival of a new manager always opens doors for some and slams them shut for others.

Though Andy Carroll has been exiled on a season-long loan to West Ham United and Stewart Downing is edging ever closer to an exit in January – with the right offer certain to prompt Liverpool to let him go – Enrique appears to still have a future at the club.

Albeit, a future with terms and conditions.

With Glen Johnson, Jack Robinson and even Downing being selected ahead of him at left-back at times this season, Enrique’s longevity at Liverpool rests on him adapting and being open to change.

The 26-year-old does not so much need to reinvent himself but simply make the most of his strengths because it remains his best chance at being relevant at a new Liverpool.

It had been easy to overlook his defensive frailties, particularly in the early days of last season when his performances were so positive, because of his strengths going forward but there is little denying it now; Enrique is not a great defender.

He does, however, possess pace, power and an eye for a pass as demonstrated when he laid on the second goal for Luis Suarez at the weekend.

Enrique is also showing an appetite for the fight.

In September, his manager told him that he had to prove himself or else face the axe and recently his response has been strong.

Though some of his performances have still left much to be desired and his over-reliance on his left-foot can force himself into dead-ends, Enrique is nevertheless influencing games. After he picked out Luis Suarez against Newcastle United, he repeated the trick against Wigan and appears on the same wavelength as Liverpool’s top scorer.

Indeed, he so nearly found Suarez in the dying second at Stamford Bridge eight days ago and as long as he can have an impact on matches and, vitally, supply Suarez then Enrique will be required by Rodgers. Adding to Saturday’s goal can only help as well.

There remains room for improvement and his place in the starting line-up is by no means guaranteed from one week to the next, but when handed opportunities recently Enrique is taking his chance.

Others in the shade at Anfield may want to take a leaf out of his book.