Dirk Kuyt confident he can share the goal workload

Jan 14 2008 by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post

DIRK KUYT is determined to step forward and take the goalscoring burden off Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.

And the Dutchman has called don his team-mates top do the same as Liverpool, stumbled to a fourth successive draw at Middlesbrough on Saturday.

It was Torres who once against came to Liverpool’s rescue with a 71st-minute equaliser but aside from him and Gerrard, Yossi Benayoun is the only Liverpool player to have scored in the last seven Premier League games.

And although Liverpool’s draw took them back into the top four on Saturday, they are only there on goal difference ahead of Everton, Aston Villa and Manchester City.

And that has brought home to Kuyt the importance of spreading goal around the team in the second half of the season to keep the Champions League challengers at bay.

“We have a lot of quality players in this side and they have to do more,” said Kuyt.

“Fernando and Stevie both have a chance to be Footballer of the Year, they’ve done really good things this year for Liverpool.

“But when you play for Liverpool you know you’re under pressure and they have shown they can come up with the goals even when they’re under pressure.

“That’s what we all need to do.”

And Kuyt, who was left out of the starting line-up at Middlesbrough in favour of Andriy Voronin, feels he is getting closer to sharing the scoring workload.

He hasn’t scored since in the league since he found the net in the win at Newcastle on November 24 and added: “I’m struggling a bit at the moment, but I feel confident and I feel things are coming back.

“It’s just a matter of time I hope. I’ve got a good feeling that we can do great things for the rest of the season.

“We have the quality and we have to show it but (at Middlesbrough) we didn’t do it once again.

“It’s definitely two points lost. Liverpool have more quality than Middlesbrough. It’s up to us to show it on the pitch, but we didn’t show it in the first half.”

The second half was better and we could even have won it, but it would have been too much for this game.”

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez shrugged off further speculation on his future to insist he was just concentrating on tomorrow’s FA Cup third round replay at home to Luton Town then the next league game with Aston Villa at Anfield on Monday.

After claims in Germany that new Bayern Munich manager Jurgen Klinsmann was approached about the Anfield manager’s job, Benitez received no further assurances on his future ahead of the trip to the Riverside.

“You have to concentrate on games, not anything else,” said Benitez. “You cannot change these other things.

“There’s nothing you can do, apart from can change your players at half-time if you need to improve something.

“The team was better in the second half, so as a manager you must be pleased with your reaction.

“Some managers they change players, but apparently I rotate players. All managers change players, but it depends on the quality of the players you have.

“I believe in the quality of all the players.

“Now I’m trying to concentrate on the next game.”

Benitez has revealed he will play a strong side for the replay against Luton, despite the turmoil the League one club currently find themselves in.

But the manager was mystified by accusations that he paid the price for fielding an under-strength team in the first game, which finished 1-1 at Kenilworth Road.

“I was surprised when a journalist questioned me about not using my strongest team,” said Benitez.

“We had 10 international players in the side but the journalist was just talking about Fernando Torres not playing, so I think he didn’t know exactly about our squad.

“We will approach the replay with the same idea. I will use a strong team again because we want to progress in the FA Cup.

“It is a fantastic competition and we want to win it again.”

Captain Steven Gerrard missed the first game through illness but returned to play 90 minutes against Middlesbrough.

Daniel Agger was on the bench on Saturday and is in contention for his first start in four months tomorrow.