PETER CROUCH has defended his goalscoring record with Liverpool after netting his first hat-trick in club football – but admitted it won’t guarantee him a starting role against PSV Eindhoven tomorrow.

The striker scored a memorable treble as Rafael Benitez’s side leapfrogged over Arsenal into third place in the Premiership by defeating the Gunners 4-1 on Saturday at Anfield.

It took Crouch’s tally to 16 for the season, strengthening his position as Liverpool’s leading scorer with the striker having netted a further five while on international duty with England.

All of his Liverpool goals have come in the 24 games he has started this campaign, with Saturday only the eighth time the forward has completed the full 90 minutes.

And Crouch, who has also appeared as a substitute in 15 other games, believes he doesn’t get enough praise for his strike rate with the Anfield outfit.

“It was great to score a hat-trick against a class team like Arsenal, but people still seem to be questioning my goal record,” he said. “It does annoy me a touch, because if you look at actual minutes on the pitch, I think it works out at something like a goal every hour or so. People just look at appearances and forget I might have gone on as sub for a few minutes or been taken off long before the end. There is always pressure to produce at Liverpool, but I think I am.

“I am quite happy to have my scoring record scrutinised, because I think you’ll find it’s not bad. It was good to get a full 90 minutes and show what I can do over the course of a whole game.”

However, despite his treble – which consisted of a right-foot shot on four minutes, a header on 35 minutes and a left-foot effort on 81 minutes – Crouch accepts he could find himself on the bench when Liverpool tackle PSV in their Champions League quarter-final first leg in Holland tomorrow.

“The way the manager works, you can never be sure of your place, no matter what,” added the striker. “If he feels fresh legs are needed, he will bring them in, and he has a few to choose from.

“I won’t know about the PSV game until much nearer the time, but I certainly can’t take it for granted I will keep my place, not even after a hat-trick.”