Benitez Not Pressured At Liverpool Yet

Rafael Benitez has played down suggestions he is a manager under intense pressure after a summer of lavish spending at Liverpool by insisting Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger are starting the season under just as much scrutiny as him.

Benitez says the near-£40 million he has invested in players, including a club record amount on Fernando Torres, since watching Liverpool lose the Champions League final in Athens 80 days ago is money well spent.

He accepts he starts his fourth season in charge at Anfield under the microscope but believes he is under no more pressure than the managers of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, even though Ferguson, Mourinho and Wenger have delivered the title to their clubs.

"Who is under more pressure? Ferguson for winning the league and spending big money, Mourinho for finishing second and spending big money over three years or Wenger for losing Thierry Henry and not winning the title for some years?

"We are all under pressure," Benitez said ahead of today's opening game at Aston Villa.

Liverpool have finished each of the last two seasons in third spot ahead of Arsenal, although they ended last term 21 points adrift of the summit after winning just six times away from Anfield.

Benitez insists his squad are better equipped to mount a more serious challenge, although the Spaniard stopped short of promising to deliver the league after 17 title-free years at Liverpool.

"I don't want to seem arrogant, but when I was at Valencia they had gone 31 years without winning the league, and then we won it and won it again," Benitez said. "Why? Because I have very good staff and good players. Now, I continue having a good staff and better players.

"Hopefully we can now win the league. I don't want to say it's this season because I don't want to make any promises. But I can say we have a better squad, a better team and are working hard. I have confidence and if the new players can settle in quickly, we'll have more of a chance."

Liverpool have not won their opening fixture since John Arne Riise hit the only goal of the game at Aston Villa five years ago.

Benitez knows a repeat scoreline today would help confidence after last season's limp 1-1 opener at Sheffield United set the tone for a season of domestic disappointment.

He has tried to ease the pressure on Torres, who is expected to start at Villa Park, by insisting he expects to see all his forwards hit double figures over the course of the next nine months.

Yet the Liverpool manager admits his side's season could hinge on how long it takes the Spanish striker, who is expected to feature at Villa Park, to adapt to life in the Premiership after arriving from La Liga.

He said: "A lot will depend on how the new players settle in, if they take three months then we might end up in a bad situation."