Rafa praises God

Last updated : 31 January 2006 By Al Campbell
Fowler is not fully match fit yet but Benitez has praised Fowler's attitude in training and says even a half fit Robbie Fowler is an asset to his team.

"I can see he is mature now, and clever," said Benitez ahead of the Reds' clash with Birmingham on Wednesday.
 
"We know he needs to improve his fitness but he's very close, and he's got game intelligence. It's not like playing basketball where you need to be fit. In football, if you're clever, you can play.
 
"He's always been a goalscorer, and can bring important things to our team. He's not match-fit, how can he be after being out for three months? But he's so clever he can get a goal walking, where other players wouldn't running. At 50 per cent maybe he can get five goals, at 80 per cent fitness, maybe even 15.
 
"If Robbie is fit, he could play for any club in the world. He's such a good player. He's been knocking the goals in during training already, it's clear that when it comes to scoring goals he's a natural. If you haven't £100m to spend every year and want to get to the top, you must use your imagination. We've done that with Robbie.
 
"I've told him 'maybe we need to see him fit in the last month of the season', but he can give us other things now, such as passion and competitiveness in positions. We have created chances this season, but we need to score more goals."