"My job is to put pressure on Sami and Carra so that the manager sees me as an alternative to them. But you only have to look at the way those two have played in the last couple of years to realise what a difficult job it would be to replace either of them," he said.
But Whitbread is confident that with the huge number of matches the Reds could potentially be involved in this season, he will be able to force his away into several starting line ups.
"I just have to keep on working hard in training and then I get a chance in games like I did against Kaunas," he said.
"In the modern game you have to have a good squad with a number of players for every position so you have to accept competition for places. Hopefully, if I keep impressing the boss I will be involved in more games this season," he added.