Kewell looks to recapture form

Harry Kewell hopes he can reproduce the form that once impressed new Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez on his last visit to Old Trafford.

Benitez takes his Spanish-influenced Liverpool to Manchester United tonight recalling that the last time he was there, Kewell was with Leeds and gave Jaap Stam the run-around back in October 2000.

Another display like that from Kewell will go a long way to confirming the Australian has recaptured the form that was missing from his Liverpool displays last season.

There have certainly been improvements in Kewell since Benitez arrived at Anfield.

“My game is getting there,” said the player. “I am satisfied with the way it is going, I am being asked to play safe in certain areas but when I do get the ball I have the licence to go forward and things are beginning to come together.

“We have a new manager and new tactics and it seems to be working. We have a lot of confidence in our game now. But there is still a long way to go. We want to be judging ourselves against Manchester United and it will be a tough match, but we have confidence in ourselves to produce a good result.”

Back-to-back wins over West Brom and Monaco have greatly improved the image of Benitez’s Anfield revolution.

And Kewell says: “The three Spanish players have settled in brilliantly. With the way Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia have played people keep forgetting about Josemi, but he is doing well too.

“Steven Gerrard and Alonso played really well together in the Champions League last week, they are blossoming, but then they have to because Didi Hamann is just waiting to step in there. It must be great for the manager to have that sort of problem with those three players.”

Benitez has not wanted to be dragged into the Rio Ferdinand debate, with the England man likely to return after his eight months ban for missing a drugs test.

Benitez said: “I do not know whether Rio Ferdinand will play or not, and we will not have two different plans for him playing or not.

“It is a decision for Alex Ferguson. Sometimes when a player comes back after being out he does not play well straight away, we will just have to see.

“I do not know how much Ferdinand’s absence has affected Manchester United and how they have started the season. I do know that a big club can play one or two bad games but there is no time for it to keep on happening.”