There are not many employees who covet an office near the boss, but Rafael Benitez is one of them. The day-to-day contact he enjoyed with Foster Gillett, the son of Liverpool's co-owner, George Gillett, who was installed as his representative in Liverpool in August, gave him the ear of the management.
The two men, who according to Benitez were in and out of each other's adjoining offices at Liverpool's Melwood training ground, have seen far less of each other since the American returned in October to Montreal for reasons which are still not altogether clear and Benitez, in the course of putting a troubled 10 days with his owners in the past yesterday, underscored the value to him of their being together. "When Foster is around it [is] easier," said the Spaniard, whose public indignation over the club's transfer policy stems in part from the insistence by George Gillett and Tom Hicks that he deals with the chief executive, Rick Parry, on such issues.
Gillett Jnr stayed on in Liverpool this week after flying in for the Champions League win against Porto on Wednesday, though Benitez had not yet encountered him at Melwood when he spoke. "Maybe we will talk this afternoon," he said. "I missed him after the [Porto] game because I was talking to Spanish radio journalists." Those journalists may have helped put off what might be an uncomfortable reunion for Benitez, whose indignation expressed at two press briefings are known to have angered the American's father and his co-owner at Liverpool, Hicks.
Though reports yesterday that Hicks and Gillett may be ready to sell up at Liverpool already are wide of the mark – Parry described the claim as "utter garbage" – they certainly seem to be keeping Benitez at arms' length. The Spaniard has received none of the periodic emails he gets from the club's owners since the midweek win which keeps another improbable European recovery story alive. Was this a disappointment, he was asked yesterday? "Maybe it's another misunderstanding," he replied. The Americans' response – like much else at the club it seems – has been through Parry this week. There was "information" Benitez said, but he would not say what.
The Liverpool manager did reveal that he has sat down with his chief executive in an attempt to resolve their differences. "The meeting with Rick Parry was about the problems we have had and the problems we could have in the future," Benitez said. The Spaniard, who is known to want to stay in a city where his family are very happy, went to some lengths to demonstrate that he has taken on the Americans' message about focusing on the players he has. The message was not delivered repeatedly as an ironic riposte, as it was last week, but with the air of a man acting on orders.
"My idea is to keep working with the players," Benitez said. "I will prepare the team and take care of the team," he added later. Victories over Newcastle and Porto make swallowing pride a little easier for the Spaniard. But he certainly does not feel he has acted inappropriately. "I think it [my behaviour] was normal," he said. "All managers want the best for their club." His mood if Liverpool do not prevail in Europe – they visit Marseilles on Wednesday week – and maintain the form they showed at St James' Park is more difficult to predict.
The extended absence of centre-back Daniel Agger, which led Benitez to rely more heavily on Sami Hyypia than he would have wished and fuelled a row over the Americans' refusal to sanction an immediate approach to Milan's Kaka Kaladze, will continue for a few weeks yet. Agger, probably Liverpool's most badly needed player, did not take to a new pair of boots made for him after his metatarsal fracture and is awaiting another pair before making his return. Fabio Aurelio is near a comeback, though Benitez must wait longer for his influential midfielder Xabi Alonso.
Benitez also said that he does not want to part company with Peter Crouch, despite suggestions from Thaksin Shinawatra that Manchester City are interested in him.
The two men, who according to Benitez were in and out of each other's adjoining offices at Liverpool's Melwood training ground, have seen far less of each other since the American returned in October to Montreal for reasons which are still not altogether clear and Benitez, in the course of putting a troubled 10 days with his owners in the past yesterday, underscored the value to him of their being together. "When Foster is around it [is] easier," said the Spaniard, whose public indignation over the club's transfer policy stems in part from the insistence by George Gillett and Tom Hicks that he deals with the chief executive, Rick Parry, on such issues.
Gillett Jnr stayed on in Liverpool this week after flying in for the Champions League win against Porto on Wednesday, though Benitez had not yet encountered him at Melwood when he spoke. "Maybe we will talk this afternoon," he said. "I missed him after the [Porto] game because I was talking to Spanish radio journalists." Those journalists may have helped put off what might be an uncomfortable reunion for Benitez, whose indignation expressed at two press briefings are known to have angered the American's father and his co-owner at Liverpool, Hicks.
Though reports yesterday that Hicks and Gillett may be ready to sell up at Liverpool already are wide of the mark – Parry described the claim as "utter garbage" – they certainly seem to be keeping Benitez at arms' length. The Spaniard has received none of the periodic emails he gets from the club's owners since the midweek win which keeps another improbable European recovery story alive. Was this a disappointment, he was asked yesterday? "Maybe it's another misunderstanding," he replied. The Americans' response – like much else at the club it seems – has been through Parry this week. There was "information" Benitez said, but he would not say what.
The Liverpool manager did reveal that he has sat down with his chief executive in an attempt to resolve their differences. "The meeting with Rick Parry was about the problems we have had and the problems we could have in the future," Benitez said. The Spaniard, who is known to want to stay in a city where his family are very happy, went to some lengths to demonstrate that he has taken on the Americans' message about focusing on the players he has. The message was not delivered repeatedly as an ironic riposte, as it was last week, but with the air of a man acting on orders.
"My idea is to keep working with the players," Benitez said. "I will prepare the team and take care of the team," he added later. Victories over Newcastle and Porto make swallowing pride a little easier for the Spaniard. But he certainly does not feel he has acted inappropriately. "I think it [my behaviour] was normal," he said. "All managers want the best for their club." His mood if Liverpool do not prevail in Europe – they visit Marseilles on Wednesday week – and maintain the form they showed at St James' Park is more difficult to predict.
The extended absence of centre-back Daniel Agger, which led Benitez to rely more heavily on Sami Hyypia than he would have wished and fuelled a row over the Americans' refusal to sanction an immediate approach to Milan's Kaka Kaladze, will continue for a few weeks yet. Agger, probably Liverpool's most badly needed player, did not take to a new pair of boots made for him after his metatarsal fracture and is awaiting another pair before making his return. Fabio Aurelio is near a comeback, though Benitez must wait longer for his influential midfielder Xabi Alonso.
Benitez also said that he does not want to part company with Peter Crouch, despite suggestions from Thaksin Shinawatra that Manchester City are interested in him.
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