AN hour after the final whistle on Saturday, George Gillett stepped out on to the pitch at a near-deserted Anfield, an impressive ceremonial sword in hand.

The Liverpool co-owner was posing for photographs with a Saudi prince involved in negotiations over possible investment into the club.

But when Fernando Torres emerged from the players’ tunnel moments later, Gillett must have been tempted to use the blade to anoint the Spaniard with a knighthood.

‘Sir’ is the prefix Liverpool supporters to this day use to describe Roger Hunt, the legendary World Cup-winning striker who still holds the record for the most goals in a league season.

No player has come close to Hunt’s tally of 41 in the 1961-62 campaign, but the signs during the past week are that Torres has regained the hunger to threaten that landmark figure.

It was barely 10 days ago that the Spaniard was compelled to question his own form after a series of lacklustre displays had prompted the critical vultures to begin circling.

They needn’t have bothered. A fine Torres brace at West Ham United last Saturday was followed by a sumptuous hat-trick that downed Hull City at the weekend and helped Rafael Benitez’s side rack up a sixth successive victory.

Torres now has eight goals in seven Premier League appearances thanks to the fourth treble of his Liverpool career. No wonder Benitez later declared the striker as “priceless”.

All three goals demonstrated the fleet of foot, close control and dead-eye marksmanship that have brought Torres an astonishing 46 goals in just 64 top-flight appearances since arriving at Anfield in the summer of 2007.

His first came on 12 minutes, Emiliano Insua and Albert Riera combining down the left before the latter crossed low into the box to his fellow Spaniard, who shifted the ball away from Ibrahima Sonko and fired across goalkeeper Boaz Myhill.

For the Hull defence and Sonko in particular, it was a long, long afternoon, the centre-back twice caught out for Torres’s second on 28 minutes.

Having initially played the striker onside from Yossi Benayoun’s clever short pass, Sonko was then turned inside out by Torres who waltzed the ball beyond Liam Cooper and then Myhill before slotting into the open net.

Benayoun was again the instigator for the hat-trick goal two minutes after the interval. Once more, Sonko allowed Torres to race in behind the Hull back line and was then outsmarted by the footwork of the striker, the Spaniard finishing between the legs of Paul McShane.

Job done, Torres soon departed to a standing ovation with Benitez already planning for an important week, with tomorrow’s Champions League clash at Fiorentina followed by the first real litmus test of the season with a visit to Chelsea on Sunday.

Victory at Stamford Bridge last year underlined Liverpool’s title credentials, and the Anfield outfit will head into the fixture with burgeoning confidence after the hesitancy of the opening weeks.

Like Torres, Liverpool are now getting into their stride. The total of 22 goals from the first seven league games is a tally only bettered once in the club’s history, with Benitez’s side having now netted at least three times in 13 of their last 17 top-flight outings.

Of course, there are plenty of Liverpool supporters who wish Gillett, along with fellow American Tom Hicks, would fall on their sword and depart the club.

Gillett’s first visit to Anfield this season was marked by a protest outside the ground before kick-off, a banner declaring ‘Yank Liar$ Out’ highlighting the strength of feeling that still persists against the owners.