It has become tradition that whenever he leads Liverpool to silverware, Rafael Benitez buys his wife Montse a watch. Such a gift is perhaps fitting given the Anfield manager knows all too well the value of time in a profession that doesn’t grant much.
The clock began ticking a little louder on Benitez’s tenure after a festive campaign in which his team fell further behind in their quest for the Premier League crown.
Successive draws against Manchester City and Wigan Athletic have increased the scrutiny of the Spaniard’s methods and exposed how Liverpool trail Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea in the top-flight pecking order.
Benitez will hope relief comes in the form of a lengthy FA Cup run, starting tomorrow with the visit to Luton Town in the third round.
A memorable 5-3 victory at Kenilworth Road at the same stage of the competition two years was the catalyst for a cup campaign which ended with the trophy being lifted by Steven Gerrard in Cardiff.
Benitez believes that triumph is an indication of the strides made under his tenure. But while confident that progress continues to be made at a rapid rate, the manager accepts keeping pace with their main rivals remains an increasingly difficult objective.
“We’ve won four trophies, including one Champions League and reaching another final, so the progress is clear,” says the Spaniard.
In the league, Arsenal, United and Chelsea have very good teams and are also spending big money. We are progressing but they are also. We need to progress faster than them, sometimes it’s possible and sometimes it isn’t.
“Expectation can be a problem. When we started this season, everybody was talking about how we can be title contenders this year. I think the same too, but with the other teams also improving their squads, you never know.
“If it’s just a race against the watch, then we are faster than before. But if it’s against the others, it depends on them also whether you finish first, second or third.”
Benitez adds: “As a manager at a football club you just think about winning. It’s difficult but it’s simple. If you keep winning then everybody is happy, the owners, everyone at the club, and the supporters.
“I don’t think that the owners are putting more pressure on me. We are working hard together now trying to improve the squad in January. I don’t have any problems with the situation now. I think it was a misunderstanding in the past, now we are working together. Foster Gillett is here now and I speak to him every day.
“We are doing the plan for this season, as this season hasn’t finished yet. We will continue thinking about this season and also the future.”
Liverpool are 12 points adrift of Premier League leaders Arsenal and are currently outside the automatic Champions League places.
While Benitez hasn’t given up hope of the title just yet, he concedes his team will almost certainly need a maximum-point haul from their trips to the Emirates, Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge later this season.
“I have a lot of confidence that like two years ago we can win some games in a row and progress and try to get closer,” he says. “I cannot lie and say the Premier League will be easy. In England it’s always difficult and it’s now more difficult than it was two games ago.
No-one is the champion yet. But we must do everything almost perfect if we want to win the title. Now is not the time to ask if we can or cannot win the title. In two months time we will know more. The games against the other top teams will be more important now.”
With calf injury victim Gerrard among several players unavailable tomorrow, Benitez is expected to make a raft of changes for the visit to Kenilworth Road.
And the manager has urged his players to stamp out the profligacy that has undermined their efforts in recent outings.
“We were really disappointed after the Wigan game,” he says. “We deserved to win four games over Christmas and we could not. But we can’t dwell on that disappointment. We have to think about working, and the commitment of the staff and the players is 100%.
“If you analyse the other teams, then they sometimes have bad games but win, and that’s been the difference this season. We’ve been playing well but not scoring the second goal to finish off the game, and that’s been a problem. The players know that we need to improve in this particular area.”
Liverpool came from 3-1 down to win 5-3 in their famous third-round clash at Luton in January 2006, with Xabi Alonso scoring one of the competition’s great goals from inside his own half – despite Gerrard’s initial disgust the Spaniard had shot instead of passing.
And Benitez says: “It was an exciting game with a lot happening in it. I remember the goal of Xabi Alonso and how disappointed Gerrard was with the way he had shot for goal.
“Maybe I had the same reaction as Gerrard as I thought Xabi might have passed, but it was a fantastic goal in a very good game.
“I have good memories of that, if not the 5-3 scoreline. I am not sure my heart could cope with that again, especially as we were 3-1 down in the second half.
“It’s important for Luton to play against a top team. Their supporters will be pleased to see Liverpool again and maybe it will help the club’s financial situation.”
The clock began ticking a little louder on Benitez’s tenure after a festive campaign in which his team fell further behind in their quest for the Premier League crown.
Successive draws against Manchester City and Wigan Athletic have increased the scrutiny of the Spaniard’s methods and exposed how Liverpool trail Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea in the top-flight pecking order.
Benitez will hope relief comes in the form of a lengthy FA Cup run, starting tomorrow with the visit to Luton Town in the third round.
A memorable 5-3 victory at Kenilworth Road at the same stage of the competition two years was the catalyst for a cup campaign which ended with the trophy being lifted by Steven Gerrard in Cardiff.
Benitez believes that triumph is an indication of the strides made under his tenure. But while confident that progress continues to be made at a rapid rate, the manager accepts keeping pace with their main rivals remains an increasingly difficult objective.
“We’ve won four trophies, including one Champions League and reaching another final, so the progress is clear,” says the Spaniard.
In the league, Arsenal, United and Chelsea have very good teams and are also spending big money. We are progressing but they are also. We need to progress faster than them, sometimes it’s possible and sometimes it isn’t.
“Expectation can be a problem. When we started this season, everybody was talking about how we can be title contenders this year. I think the same too, but with the other teams also improving their squads, you never know.
“If it’s just a race against the watch, then we are faster than before. But if it’s against the others, it depends on them also whether you finish first, second or third.”
Benitez adds: “As a manager at a football club you just think about winning. It’s difficult but it’s simple. If you keep winning then everybody is happy, the owners, everyone at the club, and the supporters.
“I don’t think that the owners are putting more pressure on me. We are working hard together now trying to improve the squad in January. I don’t have any problems with the situation now. I think it was a misunderstanding in the past, now we are working together. Foster Gillett is here now and I speak to him every day.
“We are doing the plan for this season, as this season hasn’t finished yet. We will continue thinking about this season and also the future.”
Liverpool are 12 points adrift of Premier League leaders Arsenal and are currently outside the automatic Champions League places.
While Benitez hasn’t given up hope of the title just yet, he concedes his team will almost certainly need a maximum-point haul from their trips to the Emirates, Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge later this season.
“I have a lot of confidence that like two years ago we can win some games in a row and progress and try to get closer,” he says. “I cannot lie and say the Premier League will be easy. In England it’s always difficult and it’s now more difficult than it was two games ago.
No-one is the champion yet. But we must do everything almost perfect if we want to win the title. Now is not the time to ask if we can or cannot win the title. In two months time we will know more. The games against the other top teams will be more important now.”
With calf injury victim Gerrard among several players unavailable tomorrow, Benitez is expected to make a raft of changes for the visit to Kenilworth Road.
And the manager has urged his players to stamp out the profligacy that has undermined their efforts in recent outings.
“We were really disappointed after the Wigan game,” he says. “We deserved to win four games over Christmas and we could not. But we can’t dwell on that disappointment. We have to think about working, and the commitment of the staff and the players is 100%.
“If you analyse the other teams, then they sometimes have bad games but win, and that’s been the difference this season. We’ve been playing well but not scoring the second goal to finish off the game, and that’s been a problem. The players know that we need to improve in this particular area.”
Liverpool came from 3-1 down to win 5-3 in their famous third-round clash at Luton in January 2006, with Xabi Alonso scoring one of the competition’s great goals from inside his own half – despite Gerrard’s initial disgust the Spaniard had shot instead of passing.
And Benitez says: “It was an exciting game with a lot happening in it. I remember the goal of Xabi Alonso and how disappointed Gerrard was with the way he had shot for goal.
“Maybe I had the same reaction as Gerrard as I thought Xabi might have passed, but it was a fantastic goal in a very good game.
“I have good memories of that, if not the 5-3 scoreline. I am not sure my heart could cope with that again, especially as we were 3-1 down in the second half.
“It’s important for Luton to play against a top team. Their supporters will be pleased to see Liverpool again and maybe it will help the club’s financial situation.”
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