“Babel can do better:” Benitez

If it’s up to FC Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez, Dutch forward Ryan Babel should be showing more of his skills in the near future.

Babel, 21 years old, has mostly functioned as substitute for the Reds, and used his chances to score eight goals.

But Benitez hopes that Babel will learn to be available and ready right from the first minute of the match. On the club’s official site, the Spaniard gave his view:

“You need to remember that Dutch players coming to England with great quality have always needed time.

“Robin van Persie and Dennis Bergkamp also needed time. The leagues are totally different. The Dutch league is very technical and you have two or three teams that are very good. Every game is about getting the ball, keeping the ball and playing nice football.

“Here it is harder, though Babel has played some fantastic games for us. So we still have a lot of confidence he can progress, but now he has to work hard on defence and learn how to challenge players.

“He has done well as an impact player, which is not easy when you are young, but we think he can do more than that for us,” Benitez concluded.