Rush: Crouch must be greedy

Liverpool legend Ian Rush has urged goal-shy Peter Crouch to forget team ethics and start being selfish – just as the Welshman was once told by Bob Paisley.

Crouch has now gone 19 hours without finding the net for the Reds following his £7m (€10.1m) summer move from Southampton.

The personal crisis hit new heights on Saturday when Crouch bravely stepped forward to take a first-half penalty in the 3-0 Premiership victory over Portsmouth at Anfield.

But the 24-year-old saw his spot-kick saved, albeit with his blushes spared as Boudewijn Zenden followed up on the rebound.

Crouch is adamant he will not shy away from taking another penalty should the opportunity arise, and is confident his barren run will soon come to an end.

Rush, who scored 346 goals in his 658 appearances over two spells for Liverpool, is of the same mind and is backing Crouch to come good – providing he starts getting greedy.

“He’s just lacking confidence,” said Rush.

“He needs a goal and he’s got to be greedy and he’s got to be selfish.

“You have to tell yourself, ‘I’m a good player, and I’m going to score.’

“It’s all about mental toughness. Once he gets that first goal, he’ll be up and running.

“He’s no different to last year when he scored a lot of goals.”

Speaking on liverpoolfc.tv, Rush added: “When I first came to Liverpool I was exactly the same, thinking that if the team is winning that’s okay.

“But Bob Paisley got me into the office and said, ‘You’ve got to be selfish.’

“I said I thought Liverpool was a team game and he said, ‘You’ve got to score goals. Your job is to score goals.”’