The injury to Fernando Torres has handed two other Liverpool strikers very different opportunities at Anfield last night.
Robbie Keane will be expected to return to the forward line against West Ham, hoping to add to his two Premier League goals this season, while Ryan Babel will be praying for the chance to show he deserves a regular run in the side, with just one Premier League start this season.
The Dutchman has figured as a substitute a number of times, but boss Rafa Benitez underlined today what he must do to secure a starting berth.
“In terms of his physical condition he can play 90 minutes,” said the Reds boss “that is not a problem.
“He is a very, very quick player so to keep the consistency, to keep the high tempo, to keep the intensity is not easy. These kind of players are normally less consistent.
“He can improve. He has to train really hard to be ready, and if he plays and plays well he will keep his place, if he plays as a substitute he has to show something and then if he has an impact he can be considered for the next game.
“He just has to work harder and try to be ready.”
Keane will almost certainly start tonight, but Benitez explained that there was no extra pressure to score goals in Torres’ absence.
“We were talking before about who will score without Torres and we have Gerrard scoring goals and Kuyt scoring goals, so we have enough quality up front,” he said.
“Clearly Robbie wants to score, and everybody is talking about it, so that creates a little bit more pressure, but he has experience and he can manage.
“He is working very hard for us. If I said I was happy with his record in front of goal clearly that is not true, but if he could score two or three goals that would be a massive difference for him and for us. He knows this and in terms of his work rate he is doing well. Hopefully he can score and we can talk about goals and work rate together.”
Another player who needs to improve his performance level is Andrea Dossena, and Benitez admitted the Italian was trying too hard to impress.
“You could see from his performance the other day that he is a little bit anxious,” he said. “He wants to impress and he was going forward with a lot of energy and determination, but he was making some mistakes in defence.
“But he made two good blocks, so he was really good in some situations defending. Going forward he did well, but his defending has to improve.
“But he is training very hard and for me that is the best thing. Remember Dossena has just arrived. When Daniel Agger arrived, people were not sure, but six months later he was one of the best centre-backs in the country. Dossena will need time and it will be easier for him in the team.
“When you want to impress, when you want to show you are good enough you can be a little anxious.
“How can you control this? With the help of your team-mates. He has played the last two seasons more as a wing-back than a full-back. He was a full-back originally, but now he has to learn again the movement of the position, different team-mates and a different manager. It’s not easy.”
Robbie Keane will be expected to return to the forward line against West Ham, hoping to add to his two Premier League goals this season, while Ryan Babel will be praying for the chance to show he deserves a regular run in the side, with just one Premier League start this season.
The Dutchman has figured as a substitute a number of times, but boss Rafa Benitez underlined today what he must do to secure a starting berth.
“In terms of his physical condition he can play 90 minutes,” said the Reds boss “that is not a problem.
“He is a very, very quick player so to keep the consistency, to keep the high tempo, to keep the intensity is not easy. These kind of players are normally less consistent.
“He can improve. He has to train really hard to be ready, and if he plays and plays well he will keep his place, if he plays as a substitute he has to show something and then if he has an impact he can be considered for the next game.
“He just has to work harder and try to be ready.”
Keane will almost certainly start tonight, but Benitez explained that there was no extra pressure to score goals in Torres’ absence.
“We were talking before about who will score without Torres and we have Gerrard scoring goals and Kuyt scoring goals, so we have enough quality up front,” he said.
“Clearly Robbie wants to score, and everybody is talking about it, so that creates a little bit more pressure, but he has experience and he can manage.
“He is working very hard for us. If I said I was happy with his record in front of goal clearly that is not true, but if he could score two or three goals that would be a massive difference for him and for us. He knows this and in terms of his work rate he is doing well. Hopefully he can score and we can talk about goals and work rate together.”
Another player who needs to improve his performance level is Andrea Dossena, and Benitez admitted the Italian was trying too hard to impress.
“You could see from his performance the other day that he is a little bit anxious,” he said. “He wants to impress and he was going forward with a lot of energy and determination, but he was making some mistakes in defence.
“But he made two good blocks, so he was really good in some situations defending. Going forward he did well, but his defending has to improve.
“But he is training very hard and for me that is the best thing. Remember Dossena has just arrived. When Daniel Agger arrived, people were not sure, but six months later he was one of the best centre-backs in the country. Dossena will need time and it will be easier for him in the team.
“When you want to impress, when you want to show you are good enough you can be a little anxious.
“How can you control this? With the help of your team-mates. He has played the last two seasons more as a wing-back than a full-back. He was a full-back originally, but now he has to learn again the movement of the position, different team-mates and a different manager. It’s not easy.”
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