Mamadou Sakho said he felt like "a caged lion" while waiting for his chance to play for Liverpool this season.
Sakho, 25, had to wait until September for his first start of the current campaign, when he put in a commanding performance in the Reds' 1-1 draw with Bordeaux in the Europa League.
The France international has since made three starts in the Premier League, including the 1-1 draw with Everton in the Merseyside derby.
"In games like that, you have to impose yourself and show your character," Sakho told L'Equipe. "On the pitch there are sometimes rushes of adrenalin but once the game is finished I move on."
Sakho, who did not want to discuss the managerial situation at Anfield, signed a new long-term deal with the club in the middle of September.
The former Paris Saint-Germain centre back, who cost Liverpool a reported £12 million in 2013, is delighted to have been recalled to the France squad last week.
"I feel like I've been rewarded for my work," he said. "During the period when I wasn't playing, I was like a little lion in a cage who hadn't been fed for a while. When the door is opened, he springs up."
Sakho also revealed that retired Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has continued to support him since leaving the club.
"He often sends me little text messages like after my first match of the season in Bordeaux, [when I was] wearing the captain's armband," he said.
"He sent me a text to congratulate me saying: 'continue to fight like that, I'm proud of you.' It's always nice to get a message like that from such a great player."