Liverpool hitman Torres tells Keane not to worry about Anfield goal drought

Fernando Torres attempted to ease the pressure on strike partner Robbie Keane  by backing him to fire towards more trophies this season.

Keane arrived at Anfield with a reputation for scoring on his debut but has yet to manage a goal for Liverpool in seven attempts.

A £20.3million price tag could easily weigh heavily after such an inauspicious start but Torres is convinced the former Tottenham marksman will have proved himself value for money before the season is out.

Fernando Torres (left) has backed strike partner Robbie Keane (centre) to end his Liverpool goal drought sooner rather than later

Torres hit the ground running when he joined Liverpool from Atletico Madrid a year ago and set a record for a foreign player in his first Barclays Premier League campaign with 24 goals.

As he prepared to face Stoke at Anfield, he explained why he fully expects Keane to make up for lost time.

‘I know Robbie is going to be a very important player for us,’ he told BBC’s Football Focus. ‘

'Once he scores his first goal, he will go on to score a lot more, because that is the sort of player he is.

‘You want to score straight away to relieve the pressure when you join a new club.

'But I know Robbie from watching him when I was with Atletico, and I know we will need players like him if we want to win trophies.’

Rafa Benitez has been told to stop fretting about Keane’s lack of goals — by the Republic of Ireland striker himself.

‘I talked with Robbie a week or two ago and told him not to become too anxious,’ said the Liverpool manager.

‘He just gave me a look and said: “What’s the matter, boss? You seem more worried about it than I am.”

'That told me he is absolutely fine, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how he has gone about his job so far.’

Stoke may lean heavily on Rory Delap’s prodigious long throw for scoring opportunities, but goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen believes Liverpool rely just as much on Torres.

‘Liverpool depend on him scoring at least 20-25 goals in the League,’ he said.

‘If he doesn’t, they won’t win the title because they don’t have as many options as Chelsea or Manchester United.’

Steven Gerrard is one short of 100 goals for Liverpool and Sorensen added: ‘We don’t want him celebrating his century against us but we know we have to pick him up early, or he will hurt us.’