Hodgson: Torres happier now.

Roy Hodgson believes Fernando Torres is starting to enjoy his football once more following his winner in the 2-1 victory over Blackburn.

The striker found the net for the first time since August 29 to clinch the three points after a Jamie Carragher OG cancelled out Sotirios Kyrgiakos's opener.

But it was not just the goal Hodgson was pleased with.

"Fernando played well today, he played an awful lot better," said the boss. "That, in my opinion, was his best performance for the team this season.

"It's very nice - when you've had a good performance and caused as many problems as he did - that he actually put one in the back of the net. He'll be very happy tonight and we'll need him to score many more goals if we're going to get into the position in the table that we think we should be in."

Asked why Torres hasn't been able to find top form so far this term, Hodgson replied: "I don't know. He was down, very down when he came back from the World Cup. People do get a bit down when they're criticised right, left and centre.

"He obviously was affected by the amount of criticism he got during the World Cup. And of course the criticism that has then come to the club and the team, myself and everyone connected with Liverpool at the start of the season when we haven't got the number of points everyone expected us to get.

"Maybe he's just beginning to come out of that and find his joy of playing again - find his energy, his intensity.

"It's something we work on in training but you can't infuse that into a player. You can talk about it, demand it, ask him for it, but he's the one that's got to find it in himself when the match starts. Today he did that very, very well.

The victory does not lift Liverpool out of the relegation zone but it does mean they are just three points off seventh.

Hodgson was delighted with the application of his team in front of the home fans.

"There were elements of our play today which were quite visible in the matches we've lost or drawn," he said. "So I don't want to suggest that everything's suddenly hunky dory.

"But it was more than deserved and I'm very, very happy with the way the team played - particularly in the first 70 minutes.

"The confidence with which players passed the ball and moved was quite surprising given our table position.

"We made it clear to everyone: this is our game, we're going to take it to you, we're going to make certain we put you under pressure, we're going to be quick to pressurise when we lose the ball.

"I thought the passing and movement was as good, if not better than it's been but we were more incisive. We got in more crosses, got more bodies into the box for crosses, we had an enormous number of corner kicks and looked dangerous from those corner kicks, which is nice to see.

"It was a big ask for the players today. It's all very well having must-win games and saying 'This is the one we need to win', but there's an opponent out there that wants to stop you. And you can never get it out of your mind how bad it's going to be if you make a mistake.

"It's been a good week because it was a good performance in Napoli and it was important to back that up today, and I'm very pleased we were able to."

All three goals were scored in a crazy five-minute period, and Hodgson was thrilled with how the Reds kept going after conceding an equaliser.

"The manner of their equaliser is the manner in which we've conceded one or two of our goals this season," said the manager. "When it's in the back of the net you think, 'How on earth did it get there?'

"What pleased me was how quickly the players wanted to get on with the game. There was no hanging of heads and 'Oh my God here we go again'. Pepe Reina got the ball and raced up with it. That's very, very good for the future.

"We're not going to allow our heads to drop and we are going to have to continue battling because we've got ourselves at the start of this season into a perilous position, a very poor position in the league. It's nowhere near where we want to be.

"But it's going to take time because there are no games in the Barclays Premier League where you can relax and think, 'We'll win this one.'"

Hodgson admits he was anxious standing on the touchline in the closing moments of the game.

"Unfortunately in the last 20 minutes came the anxiety that comes to all teams that find themselves in a false position and desperate to move out of it," he explained.

"Victories by one-goal margins always bring a sense of relief. You know that, even though it would be terribly unjust to not win the game, football is not known for its justice. Things can happen. You can concede in the 93^rd minute against a team that hasn't had one shot at goal.

"You are anxious for that final whistle. There is no doubt that there was a lot of anxiety in our play in the last 15 to 20 minutes, and that's because we're lying in the bottom three and we can't get that thought out of our heads."

The boss was quizzed on comments in his programme notes about the rebuilding process at Anfield.

Asked by one journalist if he knew the extent of the job before arriving on Merseyside, he replied: "I knew everything wasn't as it should be, not least because of the worries that hung over the club in terms of who is going to own it and is there going to be money for new players.

"I also knew there were doubts about the size and the quality of the squad but you don't know whether those doubts are correct until you start working with the players.

"I've had experiences in the past where I've gone to clubs and people have told me not to worry because there are some fantastic players - then I get there and they're not very good.

"Then I've gone to clubs and been told they're poor, and X, Y and Z can't play, and then I've felt the players aren't bad at all.

"I came with my eyes open. I did come in knowing that the expectations on us could be greater than what we are capable of achieving immediately. And the only way I thought this could be dealt with is working on the field of play, trying to make sure we're organised and every player knows his job.

"We need to show a bit of humility and accept that if we're not the Liverpool of yore, we'll work hard to try and become it."

Thomas Werner and several other NESV representatives witnessed the victory, though principal owner John Henry had to watch on TV because of illness.

Hodgson added: "I'm sure he'll be happy tonight and let's hope we can give as good a performance when he comes next time, which I believe will be after our game with Bolton."

(www.liverpoolfc.tv)