Liverpool's goalkeeper, José Reina, believes Fernando Torres has been unfairly singled out for criticism at Anfield this season and has cause to be frustrated given the appalling lack of service he has endured.

Torres scored only his second goal in 11 appearances for Roy Hodgson's team on Sunday, when victory over Blackburn Rovers and a much-improved Liverpool performance eased the pressure on the manager. The Spain international has cut a disillusioned figure this term, with Hodgson citing a post-World Cup depression for the below-par performances.

Reina echoed his manager's conviction that the match-winning goal against Rovers should inspire a recovery in Torres but, by contrast, identified the team's poor form as the root of his compatriot's recent malaise. And he insists an improvement in Liverpool's leading striker cannot be accomplished single-handedly.

"All strikers are about the goals," the Liverpool goalkeeper said. "They want to score them and they want to score the winners like Fernando did against Blackburn. I think he can build up now to what he was like of old. What has happened to him is more or less what has happened to [David] Villa in Barcelona.

"They are both great players but when strikers are not scoring people are always disappointed in them. It's not fair. I don't think we have been assisting him like we should, particularly in the last few weeks. He has not been able to do anything at all. We know he is the type of player that can win a game just like that, but we can't expect him to keep doing it on his own. We have to feed him in. That's the point."

Hodgson and his players were careful not to proclaim Liverpool's first league win since August as a turning-point on Sunday, especially as the club remain in the bottom three on goal difference. But Reina admits the recent £300m takeover by New England Sports Ventures has injected a sense of optimism into the club.

He added: "It was a great moment for the club, an important step forward. Let's see if we can build up from now and maybe they can help us a little bit in the winter transfer window. They are very committed to the club. What I understand is they have been doing really good stuff in Boston [with the Red Sox baseball team] and let's be optimistic now.

"It has been a tough situation but thankfully the win means we are slightly better off than we were. It is a really tight table. We are only three points from eighth place and now the challenge is to keep winning games. We can't give this up. That's the way we have to be in every single game."

NESV representatives have been told they have six months to decide whether to build a new stadium or redevelop Anfield following their first meeting with Liverpool city council. Tom Werner, chairman of NESV, the new Liverpool directors David Ginsberg and Michael Gordon, plus the chief executive of the Boston Red Sox, Sam Kennedy, discussed the problematic issue for 90 minutes on Sunday morning with the council leader, Joe Anderson.

The council has stated its preference for a new stadium, due to an expected impact on local regeneration, and wants a definitive answer from them before planning permission for a 60,000-capacity arena expires in April.

Anderson said: "The meeting went really well. I let them know how the council and Anfield residents had gone the extra mile to make the park available and how we had waited so long for things to happen. They've rightly asked for a bit of time to assess the financial situation and for us to be patient.

"We discussed ground-share [with Everton] as one of many options. Overall, they want to see the state of Melwood and the ground, and we can look forward to a positive relationship with them. I'm not going to slam down any ultimatums, but they know how determined I am for progress."

The council leader added: "My responsibility is to the people of Anfield. If we get to April without a decision, Liverpool city council will make a decision. I'll be looking at proposals (for Stanley Park) in terms of a Plan B. The government has taken away £45m a year from this council and money from the Housing Market Renewal Fund to create housing in Anfield has now been put into the Regional Growth Fund so we're competing with the whole of the country."