“It is a long and arduous campaign, so when we as a coaching staff make a decision to take a player off, for whatever reason, that is what we will do.

“I don’t feel he has ever lacked confidence here, he has kept going and done well, we at this club know what he is capable of and we know what quality he has and what he is adding to the side. So there are no problems.”

Keane himself reiterated how little notice he has taken of either the speculation or doubts about how he fits into the Liverpool system.

He said: “You can’t worry about what people say, you have to be strong enough to take criticism.

“It’s all part of football and if you can’t take criticism then there’s no point being in this job.”

Liverpool’s victory was their first at home since November 8 following disappointing stalemates with Fulham, West Ham and Hull City.

But Lee sensed from the kick-off that any anxiety the crowd had about them slipping up again wouldn’t diminish their support of the team as they looked to re-establish their one-point advantage over Chelsea.

“The crowd were patient, said Lee. “They were with us all the way and they realised what we were trying to do, keep the ball, move it around the full width of the pitch to break them down.

“And then when we created chances we had to make sure we took them to win the match.

“We were aware of what happened with Chelsea and Manchester United both winning but we also knew we had to concentrate on our job and that is what we have done.”

Benitez sat in the directors’ box yesterday in his first public appearance since his kidney stones operations.

Whether he makes the trip to Newcastle for tomorrow’s noon kick-off is still being assessed, but Lee is likely to remain in charge from the bench.