HARRY KEWELL will start the new campaign determined to improve on a debut season at Liverpool which he admits was below par.

The Australian winger failed to live up to fans' expectations following his high-profile £5m transfer from Leeds United.

While he started his Reds career well - scoring 11 goals - Kewell suffered a disappointing dip in form during the second half of the campaign.

His displays were not helped by an ankle injury, but after a summer's rest Kewell is now raring to go.

The 25-year-old said: "It's not a case of me being desperate to get back to my top form because I know what I'm capable of and I know what I can produce.

"I've said before that I wasn't happy with my form towards the end of last season. Most people will probably say I did okay, but for me just doing okay isn't enough. I always want to do better.

"I want to play my part this season and contribute to the team. I'm not going to speak about targets or anything like that because I want to leave that kind of talk to the manager. But it goes without saying that we all want to do as well as possible."

Kewell, Gerard Houllier's big signing 12 months ago, knows he has to deliver this time round under new boss Rafael Benitez.

The player said: "The manager has brought new ideas with him and pre-season has been tough so far. You expect it to be hard, but I think we're all enjoying it.

"He has really been putting us through our paces and the muscles are aching, but this is an important time of the season because we're all looking to make a good impression.

"It's very exciting to be working with a manager who has the track record he has.

"What he did at Valencia was massive and hopefully he can bring that kind of success here.

"There's definitely a new buzz around the place. When new people arrive it means it's a new start for everyone and we all start from scratch.

"It's still very early days, but so far I'm really enjoying it."