ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS:LIVERPOOL'S MANAGER, Rafael Benitez, has confirmed what his substitution policy has indicated this season by revealing he expects an improvement from Robbie Keane once the €23.8 million striker fully adapts to life at Anfield, writes ANDY HUNTER

Keane, Benitez' showcase signing of the summer, was withdrawn for the 15th time in his brief Liverpool career on Monday night as the new Premier League leaders were held to a disappointing goalless draw by West Ham United.

The Republic of Ireland captain's frustration was evident when his number went up in the 66th minute and the raw French forward, David Ngog, took his place to cap another unproductive night in front of goal for the 28-year-old.

The former Tottenham striker was by no means Liverpool's chief culprit against West Ham and his prodigious work-rate is not reflected in a return of just four goals this season.

But Benitez has admitted Keane is struggling after allowing the striker to complete 90 minutes in only three of his 22 appearances for the club.

"Robbie is a better player than the one we are seeing now," the Liverpool manager said. "We know what kind of player Robbie Keane is. He needs people around him to pass the ball well. I believe he will be okay, he will score more if we create chances for him. But if that does not happen we have to use players with different qualities to open up the game.

"Robbie does get disappointed when things are not going his way. He is a worker, but he can improve. It is a question of confidence. If we score first in this type of game then we will grow and win. Some players may be lacking in confidence, but if we keep creating chances we will be okay. Robbie, when he came off, was disappointed.

"But players always want to be out on the pitch for 90 minutes, but we were thinking of different solutions and Ngog did well when he came on, holding the ball up."

Benitez tried to remain upbeat, but he knew only too well two more points had been squandered from a winnable home game, just like Liverpool did against Stoke and Fulham. He added: "It could have been three more points and top of the league. Clearly we are frustrated, but we are one point clear of Chelsea, and that is positive . . . I hope we will look at the end of the season as this point being decisive."

Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool's recent dip in form should be placed into perspective against a similar, but far more costly, slump by their title rivals Chelsea.

He said: "We are both going through a bit of a rough patch but while Chelsea got beat in the Champions League (by Roma) and have still to qualify and went down a place in the league after losing to Arsenal, the good thing is that we've not been playing well but have qualified (for the Champions League knockout stage) and have just gone top of the league.

"Don't get me wrong, we would love to have gone three points clear, but I'm going to stay positive and say I'm delighted with where we are."

Meanwhile, Alex Ferguson has ruled out Manchester United making any signings in the January transfer window other than the Partizan Belgrade winger Zoran Tosic.

United obtained a work permit for Tosic on Friday and the 21-year-old Serbian international is expected to arrive in the next week to meet his new team-mates.

"There definitely won't be anyone (else) coming here," said Ferguson, who expects that the real transfer action in the north-east this winter will be at the City of Manchester Stadium.

"I'm pretty sure (Manchester) City will do some business," he said. "You don't talk about having all this money and then not use it. They'll have plenty of ideas. The fact that they tried to buy four or five players in an hour on deadline day (in September) gives you an indication."

Ferguson will be unable to call on Cristiano Ronaldo in tonight's League Cup quarter-final against Blackburn Rovers following his red card against Manchester City on Sunday during United's 1-0 derby win.

He was probably not going to use the Portugal forward anyway, preferring to play a team largely of reserve and fringe players. Paul Scholes, who is fit again after a knee operation, has an outside chance of being involved.

• Guardian Service