Rafael Benitez has made it clear that he wants Liverpool’s owners to "work quickly" in the transfer market as he plans for a summer of upheaval at Anfield.
And the Liverpool boss also claimed that a "final solution" was close in the battle for boardroom control.
Benitez’s stance came on the day that he lost first-team coach Alex Miller to a managerial job in Japan, slapped a £15million price tag on Peter Crouch and confirmed that Harry Kewell would be released at the end of the season after rejecting a new contract on less money.
Former Liverpool assistant manager Sammy Lee, sacked earlier this season as boss of Bolton, is an early front-runner to replace Miller.
Benitez also revealed that he had held "private" talks with Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill over Gareth Barry’s future - Liverpool having a £10million bid rejected last week - while confirming that he would discuss John Arne Riise’s future if a good enough offer was received.
But it is Benitez’s proactive stance on the club’s future that will raise eyebrows.
He said: "All I can add about the boardroom situation is that I am in contact with both of them (co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett) and we are trying to progress with different issues that we have.
"I do not know exactly everything about shares, but in terms of what is my responsibility, we are progressing and I am doing my job.
"Everybody knows the club needs to be well organised and everybody knows what they have to do. Who will be in charge? Maybe the final solution will be soon."
Benitez added: "We work like I did before. If I have any ideas about signing players I tell them, the owners, and also Rick Parry (chief executive), and if they say yes then we progress.
"Normally I do not ask about difficult things, normally they say yes, both of them say yes.
"I want transfer business to be done as quickly as possible. If you sign a player at the end of July you do not have much time, it is better to sign players as quickly as possible.
"How many we sign depends on the market. We have offers (in) for some players, maybe we can sell as well as buy. I am really pleased and happy with the squad, maybe we need to bring in two or three new players, but if we need to sell then we will buy new players."
Benitez was clearly determined to show he is keeping his side of the bargain struck last month with the owners about the future.
He said: "We are working hard to get closer to our targets. We need to wait but I will try to talk to the owners, I will try to talk with Rick Parry and if we have the green light we will progress with our targets."
And Benitez was also quick to underline his position over Barry, Crouch and Riise.
"Martin O’Neill is clear about the situation and we have agreed to wait until the end of the season," he added.
"He was telling everyone (about our offer), but we are willing to wait and we will try to talk again about the possibilities.
"I was talking privately with Martin before (the offer) and he knows our ideas, clearly.
"Harry has talked with his agent and we were trying to reach an agreement, but we could not get that so he will be released at the end of the season.
"Riise has one year more on his contract. He is not playing at the moment but he knows that if we receive an offer that is good for him and good for us, okay, we will talk.
"But at this moment he is our player. I am really pleased with him because he is a fantastic professional."
On Crouch, Benitez revealed an irritation with the situation, saying: "We offered Peter a new contract.
"Nobody was talking about him when we signed him from Southampton and then everyone was criticising him because he was not scoring goals.
"But I supported him. Now he wants to play every week. We know that Portsmouth are always in the media, talking, every time. But we have had no official offers, just talking.
"But if we receive an offer, £15million or more would be reasonable, I want the best for Crouch and the best for my club.
"I talked to him before and I have talked to him two days ago. He knows my position and I know his position, we are professionals we want the best for each of us.
"But now he is a different player, he is a big name. For the last month we have heard that he wants to play, he wants to leave and that there are other clubs who would like to sign him.
"We will now wait and see whether there are any offers. Then we will talk with him. Clearly we would want a big price."
And the Liverpool boss also claimed that a "final solution" was close in the battle for boardroom control.
Benitez’s stance came on the day that he lost first-team coach Alex Miller to a managerial job in Japan, slapped a £15million price tag on Peter Crouch and confirmed that Harry Kewell would be released at the end of the season after rejecting a new contract on less money.
Former Liverpool assistant manager Sammy Lee, sacked earlier this season as boss of Bolton, is an early front-runner to replace Miller.
Benitez also revealed that he had held "private" talks with Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill over Gareth Barry’s future - Liverpool having a £10million bid rejected last week - while confirming that he would discuss John Arne Riise’s future if a good enough offer was received.
But it is Benitez’s proactive stance on the club’s future that will raise eyebrows.
He said: "All I can add about the boardroom situation is that I am in contact with both of them (co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett) and we are trying to progress with different issues that we have.
"I do not know exactly everything about shares, but in terms of what is my responsibility, we are progressing and I am doing my job.
"Everybody knows the club needs to be well organised and everybody knows what they have to do. Who will be in charge? Maybe the final solution will be soon."
Benitez added: "We work like I did before. If I have any ideas about signing players I tell them, the owners, and also Rick Parry (chief executive), and if they say yes then we progress.
"Normally I do not ask about difficult things, normally they say yes, both of them say yes.
"I want transfer business to be done as quickly as possible. If you sign a player at the end of July you do not have much time, it is better to sign players as quickly as possible.
"How many we sign depends on the market. We have offers (in) for some players, maybe we can sell as well as buy. I am really pleased and happy with the squad, maybe we need to bring in two or three new players, but if we need to sell then we will buy new players."
Benitez was clearly determined to show he is keeping his side of the bargain struck last month with the owners about the future.
He said: "We are working hard to get closer to our targets. We need to wait but I will try to talk to the owners, I will try to talk with Rick Parry and if we have the green light we will progress with our targets."
And Benitez was also quick to underline his position over Barry, Crouch and Riise.
"Martin O’Neill is clear about the situation and we have agreed to wait until the end of the season," he added.
"He was telling everyone (about our offer), but we are willing to wait and we will try to talk again about the possibilities.
"I was talking privately with Martin before (the offer) and he knows our ideas, clearly.
"Harry has talked with his agent and we were trying to reach an agreement, but we could not get that so he will be released at the end of the season.
"Riise has one year more on his contract. He is not playing at the moment but he knows that if we receive an offer that is good for him and good for us, okay, we will talk.
"But at this moment he is our player. I am really pleased with him because he is a fantastic professional."
On Crouch, Benitez revealed an irritation with the situation, saying: "We offered Peter a new contract.
"Nobody was talking about him when we signed him from Southampton and then everyone was criticising him because he was not scoring goals.
"But I supported him. Now he wants to play every week. We know that Portsmouth are always in the media, talking, every time. But we have had no official offers, just talking.
"But if we receive an offer, £15million or more would be reasonable, I want the best for Crouch and the best for my club.
"I talked to him before and I have talked to him two days ago. He knows my position and I know his position, we are professionals we want the best for each of us.
"But now he is a different player, he is a big name. For the last month we have heard that he wants to play, he wants to leave and that there are other clubs who would like to sign him.
"We will now wait and see whether there are any offers. Then we will talk with him. Clearly we would want a big price."
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