Robbie Fowler believes he will have to "live like a monk" to ensure he gets the long-term contract he craves at Liverpool. And while boss Rafael Benitez insists there is no magic wand to make his strikers regain their form, Anfield fans believe he has a goalscoring magician in his ranks who can change the course of the club's season. With Peter Crouch out with a heel injury, it is likely that Fowler - determined to extend his initial six-month deal into a contract for life - could start his first match since returning to Anfield when the Reds take on Wigan at the JJB Stadium. Benitez has skipper Steven Gerrard back from a knee injury, but is also without Luis Garcia (knee) and Stephen Warnock (groin). Benitez has been careful with Fowler's comeback, insisting he trains rather than plays to regain his fitness, but now could be the time to give the 30-year-old his head to arrest a run of three successive away league defeats. Fowler cannot wait, and can also see the humour in his current situation. "If I am honest, I have got six months to get a contract and I am doing everything I can to get it," he said. "If it takes me being what is seen as a good boy for six months, that's what I have got to do. "I suppose I have got to live like a monk for a while. I want to stay here for a few years, and to achieve that certain sacrifices have to be made. "In the past people have had the wrong perception of me. There were times I did stupid things, but it was never what people made out and I would like to think all that is behind me now." Fowler's goals are needed as Benitez seeks solutions to a drought that has not seen any of his strikers - Crouch, Fernando Morientes and Djibril Cisse - score this year. Benitez said: "There is no magic wand I can find as a solution, it is all down to hard work and training. "Fernando has always scored, Cisse too and Crouch got plenty last season and has been scoring okay until recently. "But we have energy and confidence and I do not mind a long season. That means we are winning and reaching finals. "If the choice was a short season and no finals or a long one like this, I would prefer the long version."