Crouch pledges to fight for his future

Sep 17 2007 by Ben Thornley, Liverpool Daily Post

PETER CROUCH has shrugged off the mounting speculation linking him with a move away from Liverpool by reiterating his
desire to fight for a first team place.

The summer arrivals of Andriy Voronin and Fernando Torres have seen last season's top scorer slip down the pecking order of strikers at Anfield this term, with Crouch having to wait until Saturday's clash at Fratton Park to make his first league start.

With his opportunities restricted this campaign, Crouch continues to be the subject of much media conjecture, with his former side Portsmouth believed to be one of the sides ready to compete for his signature should he be ready to quit the club.

But while the marksman has admitted his frustration, he is adamant he wants to play his part in bringing silverware to Anfield this term.

"There are times when it can be frustrating," said Crouch. "But I fully understand the manager's thinking and when called upon, I just have to make sure I am ready.

"Maybe I'm not playing every single week but I will certainly get a good amount of games. Look at the team this season. We are challenging for the league, the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup. I want to be a part of that and hopefully come away with a few medals.

"Everyone wants to be playing games. All the lads are greedy and want to play every game, but the manager has told me that it is not possible to play in every game with the number of competitions we are playing in. That is good enough for me.

"Hopefully I can play a few more games than I have been doing, but I'm not too frustrated. I am confident I will get a good amount of games this year."

After being an automatic choice in his first season with the club, Crouch admits that he has struggled at times to adjust to life in Rafael Benitez's rotation system. But after recognising the support he received from the Spaniard when enduring a long goal drought in the opening months of his Anfield career, he is ready to repay Benitez with a similar show of patience.

"When you are at smaller clubs, like when I was at Portsmouth or Southampton, I was playing every game," added Crouch.

"But when you come to a club like Liverpool, you have a top-quality squad and competition for places. So I have had to change my way of thinking."

Some pundits have suggested that Crouch may have to move to secure regular football in order to maintain his place in the England squad. But he has revealed that Steve McClaren has reassured him that his recent inactivity for his club will not affect his international career.

"The England manager has told me that I have a big future internationally as well," said Crouch. "If I can continue to impress with Liverpool then hopefully I can stay in his thoughts. He has reassured me. He knows what I can do.

" I have 20 caps in a short space of time and scored plenty of goals, so he knows what I can do. He knows that when called upon for England I will do a job."

Crouch, like many of his team-mates, endured a difficult afternoon at Fratton Park, making way for Torres on 62 minutes. The Spain striker, who brought much-needed pace to the visitors's attack, has impressed the England frontrunner with the ease in which he has settled into life in the Premiership.

But while Crouch recognises that Torres' £18m price tag makes the former Atletico man Benitez's striker of choice, he insists that there is not a set hierarchy among the forwards.

He said: "I honestly believe what the manager has told me, that each player is picked for each individual game.

"If he feels one player is going to cause more problems than the other he will pick them. I don't think there is a pecking order. Obviously when you pay the kind of money the club has for Fernando Torres then he is more likely to start more games.

"He has settled in straight away and proved what a top striker he is. When I get the chance I have to prove that I can do the same."

Of the stalemate, which saw Liverpool slip off the Premier League summit, he added: "It was a difficult game. "A lot of teams will struggle coming to Portsmouth, but we matched a side that are probably the strongest in the league.

"Maybe a year or two ago we would have lost that game and now we are disappointed that we have not taken all three points.

"I tried to put myself about as it was my first start in the Premier League and hopefully I can get a few more starts now.

"I was pleased with my performance and I had to be physical against Sol Campbell and Distin, who are two top centre halves. I don't think there is any rustiness on my part.

"I played a Champions League game in Toulouse, I felt sharp then and I felt sharp today. Form definitely comes with a run of games and hopefully I can get that now."