Liverpool defender Martin Kelly has explained the ear flicking fans see among the players.

Kelly kindly explained what is going on in the picture above during an interview with earlier this week.

He said: "It's a game we play and having your ears flicked is the forfeit you have if you are in the box when the whistle blows. You don't want to be in the box. There are two in the box against the people outside who are trying to keep the ball from you.

"It's a mixture of the young lads who get their ears flicked. We get a bit stitched up sometimes. You don't see many of the senior players getting stitched up.

"Put it this way - Carragher's never getting his ears flicked!

"There's not necessarily something going on but it's usually some of the young lads - maybe they just bottle it at the last minute!

"I've not had many flickings, luckily. I usually pass it to the person next to me just before the whistle goes.

"Training is enjoyable. Most days now training finishes and we're asking to stay out a bit more to do shooting. We don't want to go home. Sometimes the manager has to settle us down a little bit because we're enjoying it that much out there.

"It's definitely bringing us together as a team and when we do the formation work, we concentrate hard. We have to take that into a game and we understand that."