[lfc-news] BENITEZ EXPECTS MORE FROM CISSE

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BENITEZ EXPECTS MORE FROM CISSE
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/05/10/21/SOCCER_Liverpool_Nightlead.html&TEAMHD=soccer

Rafael Benitez has warned top scorer Djibril Cisse that there is more to
leading the Liverpool attack than just scoring goals.

Cisse has hit the winner for Liverpool to secure Barclays Premiership and
Champions League points twice in the last week.

He would expect to hang onto the strikers' role at Fulham, where Liverpool
will be trying to protect a nine-match unbeaten away record this season.

But with skipper Steven Gerrard returning to the squad following a shin
injury picked up on international duty, the Anfield chief has issued a
thinly disguised challenge to the French hitman.

Benitez said: "He needs to play well now with everyone fit.

"It is not only about scoring goals, it is about playing well for the team
and trying to do the job we want from him for the team.

"Peter Crouch was playing well and he would like to score also, but for me
it was more important that he played well for the team."

Crouch could well return to the starting line-up at Craven Cottage having
been rested for Wednesday's victory over Anderlecht in Brussels.

And Benitez underlines that he has Harry Kewell, Fernando Morientes and
Florent Sinama-Pongolle now all clamouring for a starting place.

He continued: "For Cisse the most important thing is scoring goals, we have
used different players around him and that has helped.

"But I want more competitiveness amongst the strikers so it will be better
for me if the others are scoring too.

"Confidence is always good for strikers, if you score then you are more
confident.

"He may not have always reacted the way I expected, but at the moment
whenever you see him he is always happy, and that is important now.

"But I now have a lot of players back to fitness and it is a good problem
for me to have choices like this to make.

"Cisse did well against Anderlecht, he is in form and scoring goals. And
that is good for him, good for me and good for the club.

"Now I would like to see Crouch, Morientes, Sinama-Pongolle all scoring
goals and trying to make it even more difficult for me."

Liverpool will be without groin injury victim Steve Finnan at Fulham, but
Benitez is at last seeing his improved squad offering him more alternatives
as several key men return to fitness.

He explained: "It is difficult to select a team at the moment, we have 20
players now fit so I have tough decisions all the time.

"Cisse has more confidence, it is important for him to be scoring.

"Last season he was injured for most of the time and that was tough for him
because in the previous seasons he had always scored a lot of goals.

"He needs to score, it is very important for him, and it gives him even
more confidence."

Benitez also revealed that he does not expect to have his latest
acquisitions, Mark Gonzalez from Albacete, available until next season when
the player's work permit and European passport problem can be finally
sorted out.

But he is delighted the 22-year-old Chilean has at last committed himself
to a four-year deal.

Benitez said: "We are now waiting for the work permit, he is a player we
want to use as soon as possible. But if it is not going to happen now we
will have to wait for next season.

"He is a young player, a left winger who can get to the byline and produce
the crosses for Morientes and Crouch.

"It is important that a big club has many players for each position.

"Gonzalez is a different kind of player, he is quick and gets to the line.
It is most important for us to have this type of player, maybe we can use
Bolo Zenden or Kewell on the right side.

"He has a lot of pace with great skills, but the most important thing is
that he is a hungry player.

"We are working at getting him here as quickly as possible, but if we
cannot use him now we will wait until next season when he will then have a
Spanish passport.

"He is finishing his recuperation after the cruciate knee injury and he
will be back playing maybe in the next month."

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