Benitez pleads with fans to give Kewell a fresh start

RAFAEL BENITEZ has called on Harry Kewell to show his “hunger” to play for Liverpool while pleading with fans to give the Aussie a fresh start.

Kewell, who has not kicked a ball for Liverpool’s first team since the Champions League final in May when he limped out of the game in the first half, will play for Australia at the weekend with Benitez’s blessing.

The attacking midfielder has managed just 25 minutes of a reserve run-out since his recovery from two summer operations relating to groin and hernia problems.

Now the chance for Kewell to get vital match fitness has been welcomed by boss Benitez who is more than happy to see his much-maligned player involved in Australia’s friendly with Jamaica at Craven Cottage on Sunday.

That could see the beginning of the Australian’s return to senior action in the Champions League against Anderlecht and the Carling Cup tie at Crystal Palace later this month.

But the fact that Liverpool fans have fallen out of love with Kewell over the last year is of concern to Benitez, who says he wants the fans “to give him a fresh start.”

“He could feature in the Champions League or in the Carling Cup. We can use him then. If we use him little by little he can find his way back, but he must also be hungry to succeed. That’s important too.”

Even Benitez became exasperated with Kewell’s constant injuries last season, but said: “Harry is a fantastic player and we need him.

“I want to see Harry doing what he’s capable of, beating defenders and getting plenty of crosses into the box. When he’s back with us, it’ll be like signing a new player because he has a lot of quality. He is a different kind of player to what we have.

“Maybe we’ll need to be a bit more patient with him when he’s back into the team if he’s not completely match fit, but we will give him a couple of games before he plays in the Premiership.”

Benitez added: “Every day he is feeling a bit better. He’s away with Australia this weekend and then we’ll have to see if he can be involved against Blackburn. It may be too soon but we’ll have to wait and see. He will bring ability, experience and energy to our team and I’m looking forward to having him available again.”

Kewell’s return would certainly solve one of Liverpool’s major problems, the lack of crosses from the flanks. But Benitez has been quick to deny that he is chasing another winger, Real Betis star Joaquin.

And he has gone to extreme lengths to distance himself from a reported interest, by suggesting that “people in Spain are trying to move the player out of Betis.”

A Spanish newspaper claimed the player’s agent attended the Chelsea game at the weekend as a guest of Liverpool chief scout Paco Herrera.

However, Benitez said: “These stories are false. I keep reading in the Spanish press that we are trying to take Joaquin to England. The agent did not come to the Chelsea game.

“Our position is clear. We are not interested in bringing the player to Anfield and I can only assume that people in Spain are trying to move the player out of Betis.”