"I would have liked to stay at Liverpool for the next 10 to 15 years but you have to be realistic," said the midfielder.
"I was there for six years and my chances were limited, but that's because of the quality of players they have there. Reality kicked in and told me I wasn't going to make it.
"I'll be 23 this year and I need to be playing games. I could have been waiting my whole career at Liverpool to get my chance. It gradually dawned on me.
"I was involved in a few big European nights thinking: 'this is great and going really well'. Then the following week I'd be nowhere to be seen.
"You need to be in that Premiership squad of 16-18 players every week. You only have to look around the dressing room. For me to dislodge players like Gerrard, Alonso and Sissoko would have been so difficult. All those local born players who left will say they had a fair crack of the whip. Rafael Benitez gave us all a good go at it.
"I have no regrets. I have had a good football education under Steve Heighway at the youth academy. We have been brought up in the Liverpool way and we know it is the right way."