Robbie may talk like Fr Ted but he can hack it

If Liverpool can keep their nerve in the title run-in, the struggling striker will show the Liverpool fans he is no Fr.Dougal and the goals will soon be resting in his account, writes Keith Duggan

FR DOUGAL: didn't you once say that Fr Jack had a trial for Liverpool?

Fr Ted: No, no, he was on trial, in Liverpool.

- Fr Ted: Escape From Victory.

One of the more pleasing incidentals of Robbie Keane's move to Merseyside has been the jubilant tribute Kop fans have paid to the anarchic and much-loved television creation, Fr Ted. "He's quick, he's red, he talks like Fr Ted, Robbie Keane, Robbie Keane" was the chant the Kop prepared for the Irishman in anticipation of watching him repeat last season's feat of 15 league goals at Tottenham. Problem is, they have seldom had the chance to sing it out.

It is hard to say precisely when it happened but there seems to be a consensus that Keane's debut season has entered the realms of sporting nightmare in recent weeks. The fact that Liverpool's FA Cup third round match against Preston was televised has not helped his cause. The match presented the Beeb with a chance to glory in the supposed romance of the Cup, when the royals of the English game stoop to visit a bread-and-butter club like Preston.

Keane, of course, started that game and missed four chances that were shocking by any professional standards, was substituted for the returning Fernando Torres and then had to watch in misery as the Spaniard inevitably tapped home an icing-on-the-cake goal that highlighted the truth that scoring is the easiest thing in the world - except when it isn't.

That nerve-racked performance was enough to turn what has been an uncomfortable spotlight on the Dubliner, with most of the London papers sounding notes of disbelief at his wastefulness and chronic lack of form.

There can be no doubt Keane's first six months at the club he followed since boyhood are not going as planned. Nonetheless, the fixation on his form and his goalscoring touch has been blown out of all proportion. Keane has bagged five Premiership goals, hardly a spectacular return but it is worth noting it exceeds the contribution his old Spurs partner, Dimitar Berbatov - regarded as the superior of the two when they tormented defences at White Harte Lane - has made for Manchester United. And Berbatov has been allowed to try to settle into Alex Ferguson's side without the at-times hysterical rumour mill that has plagued Keane since late autumn.

Whether Keane plays today against Stoke City is, of course, down to the utterly unpredictable Rafa Benitez. Most of the Anfield old boys who have gone into football punditry seem to have long tired of trying to predict or make sense of Benitez's eclectic selection policy. There are times when he seems guided by voices only he hears as opposed to any visible form or logic to be derived from what occurs on the field. With Liverpool sitting on top of the league, none of them are complaining.

But Keane has suffered from his idiosyncrasies more than most. His reward for scoring two against Bolton was to sit on the bench for the entirety of the next game, watching in what must have been deep frustration as his new pals reaped havoc against Newcastle FC. It would have been interesting to overhear any conversation between Keane and Newcastle's goalkeeper Shay Given at St James's afterwards.

But supposing Keane does start today against Stoke and, just for the hell of it, scores a hat-trick. That feat would immediately place him within the top six goal scorers in the Premiership. It could well leave him on equal terms with Djibril Cisse (Sunderland) and Peter Crouch (Portsmouth), two strikers who also wintered at Liverpool in various states of frustration. The point is Keane is not a million miles away from recovering and still has the crucial half of what could well be Liverpool's most crucial season in 20 years.

The pressure on Keane has been immense. When you recall the childlike delight he displayed during his promotional press conferences when he joined the club late last summer, the old phrase, "Be careful what you wish for" springs to mind.

The "wait" for Keane's goal became uncomfortably long and instead Liverpool fans had to make do with his ferocious work-rate and enthusiasm. In addition, the task of either partnering or competing for a starting spot with a striker of Torres's supreme poise and confidence must have been daunting. The Spaniard's debut season at Liverpool was a sparkling success. Keane arrived this year having to justify that €23 million price tag Benitez felt he was worth and was then asked to play a role that has not always suited his most natural football instincts.

There is an old basketball saying: "It is not how many, it is when." Big scores are worth more. Despite his difficulties, Keane hit an invaluable goal against Arsenal. It is not as if he can no longer play the game. As he has said persistently, trying to hide his irritation, he still believes in his game. Confidence is everything in sport and if Keane can retain his through what has been a shattering few months of his professional life, then that speaks loudly of his moral courage.

The Liverpool management have reiterated their faith in him. He knows now he is going to be at Liverpool for the rest of this season at the very least and his arrival coincides with what is shaping up to be the club's first truly convincing attempt at landing the Premiership trophy.

With Torres fully healthy again, he becomes the automatic number-one choice and Keane is probably going to have to survive on more limited minutes as every Saturday afternoon becomes critical.

Much like Fr Jack Hackett, Robbie Keane is on trial in Liverpool right now. From the beginning, it was evident the Anfield crowd desperately wanted the new boy to succeed. But sooner or later, they will expect a return on their faith and hope.

Sport is strange, though. Narratives rarely run in straight lines for an entire season. The clairvoyant "knack" that directs strikers to the right place at the right time is as important as football ability. You watch Robbie Keane play now and you see someone desperately chasing and working to rediscover that, like a sniffer dog that has lost the trail. But what have not deserted him are his honesty and his courage to want minutes despite this rather humiliating and public discourse on his suitability for Liverpool and his ability to stake a claim among the rich cast of gods adored by the Kop down the years.

There is, of course, the chance that Liverpool's title aspirations will simply disintegrate during the bitter days of January and February. If so, then the talk of Keane will cease and the microscope will be turned on the Liverpool dressingroom in general.

But if the team keeps its nerve, it will be a great surprise if Keane does not have the chance to contribute something lasting and significant to Liverpool in the coming months. It may come down to a late goal as a substitute in one of those suffocating end-of-season title run-ins. Keane has to keep on believing that. Then they will salute the Irishman on Merseyside - and doff a cap to Dermot Morgan too.