Monday, August 04, 2008

Buoyant Rafael Benitez Targets Four Trophies

The Spaniard, bolstered by the signing of Robbie Keane and confirmation the Gareth Barry deal is still on, claimed the Anfield club would be hunting four trophies this season.

"Everything is important," he said. "Europe is important, the Premier League is important, the FA Cup and the Carling Cup, so we will try to win every trophy and you never know. We will try to win from the first game and then see the situation.

"Clearly we have confidence in ourselves and have the quality to try to win every game but you never know what can happen in any competition. We started really well and finished really well last season.

"If we can do the same this time then hopefully we will be better in the middle of the season. But we will be working really hard to be as competitive as we can."

But it wasn't all good news for Benitez, who needs to sell before buying Barry, with confirmation that Juventus have finally ended their pursuit of Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso.

The Spaniard had been tipped for a £10 million move to Italy but Juve manager Claudio Ranieri denied he was interested after watching his side lose 3-0 to Hamburg in London on Sunday.

Across Stanley Park Everton manager David Moyes insisted he would sign a new contract despite reports of a rift with the club's board.

Moyes, 45, has a year to run of his current contract but is reportedly unhappy at the club's lack of transfer funds.

"I am not going anywhere.I am here and intend to see the job through. We have great expectations and I hope that I am able to fulfill them," he said.

"I hope that maybe we can try and get together in the next week or two and sort something out. At the moment my energies are focused on bringing in new players. We have a certain amount of money to improve what we have got here."

Manchester United captain Rio Ferdinand has praised team-mate Wayne Rooney, describing his contribution to last season's double-winning campaign as "awesome".

The England centre-back told The People: "He had to take the responsibility of leading the line on his shoulders and he was awesome.

"He played out of position a lot. He played on the left and sacrificed himself so many times for the team. I know the manager wants to see Wayne playing in his more accustomed position, just off the front. Maybe that will happen if we sign a striker and then you'll see how dangerous he can be."

Hull continued their Premier League countdown with a 1-0 defeat away to Scottish club Hearts.

Lithuanian Audrius Ksanavicius scored the game's only goal, heading home in the 33rd minute to hand new Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo victory in his first game at Tynecastle.

Hull included summer signings George Boateng, Anthony Gardner and former Manchester City player Geovanni, who proved their most potent threat as he tested Hearts keeper Steve Banks with a series of free-kicks.

The result left Hull still looking for their first victory after three pre-season friendlies.

Sunderland manager Roy Keane has confirmed that striker Kenwyne Jones will undergo knee surgery.

Keane, speaking after his side's 1-0 friendly defeat to Ajax, said the Trinidad and Tobago international suffered knee ligament damage while playing against England in June and would undergo an exploratory operation to ascertain the extent of the injury.

Meanwhile, ambitious Championship club Queen's Park Rangers have snapped up Real Madrid youngster Daniel Parejo on a one-year loan.

Parejo, 19, scored the 85th-minute winner for Real against Hamburg in Sunday's Emirates Cup match but will spend the new season at Loftus Road instead of the Bernabeu.

"The youth team midfielder will therefore play in the Football League Championship next season, where he will continue progressing and honing his skills," confirmed a Real Madrid spokesman.

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