Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Rafa Benitez Insists He's Happy At Liverpool

Rafa Benitez has come out fighting after posting the worst season of his four-year Anfield reign.

This campaign will go down as the most disappointing of Benitez's time on Merseyside.

After vowing to mount a title challenge, his side have trailed in fourth and finished empty-handed for the second successive season.

Benitez can point to a third Champions League semi-final in four years and, despite admitting Liverpool could have done better, he rejects any suggestion that this campaign has been a failure.

The Spaniard did his best to lift the gloom ahead of tomorrow's final home game with Manchester City.

"Always you want to win silverware and we have not had a fantastic season, but clearly it has not been a bad one," said the Liverpool manager.

"If you analyse the season properly, to be in the top four in England and the top four in Europe is a massive achievement.

"To win the title here is more difficult than anywhere else because Chelsea and United are the best teams in Europe. To beat them, you have to be champions.

"A lot of managers will have had more disappointing seasons than us, finishing in the top four in Europe and the top four in England.

"You can ask me if this is this the most disappointing season but I can't say it is a bad season. It could have been better, but it is not a bad season."

Benitez spends every waking moment analysing Liverpool's performances and has concluded that his side must do better against their Big Four rivals.

The Reds managed just four points from four draws from their six games against Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal to finish bottom of this mini-league.

Compare that to United's 13 points and Chelsea's eight and it's not hard to see why they are the ones battling for the title.

As ever, it all comes down to money and whatever the feuding Tom Hicks and George Gillett can give Benitez, it does not compare to the vast transfer budgets of United and Chelsea.

Benitez is determined not to waste any time and has already tabled a £10million bid for Aston Villa's England midfielder Gareth Barry. "You look who was on the Chelsea bench on Wednesday - Malouda, Anelka and Shevchenko," he said. "Think about the prices of those three players.

"How much money did Chelsea spend to win the title? How much money have United spent to be top of the league?

"We cannot get to them in one season, but we have to keep improving. I will do the best I can to improve this club. Maybe it won't be good enough, but I will try."

No comments: