Saturday, December 20, 2008

Liverpool FC's Rafa Benitez's Eye For Detail Is Amazing, Says Lee

Sammy Lee has revealed how Rafael Benitez’s meticulous attention to detail has ensured the smooth running of the club in the manger’s absence.

Benitez – who was yesterday handed a return to his home city of Madrid after Liverpool were drawn with his former club Real in the last 16 of the Champions League– was admitted to hospital in the early hours of Monday morning with a kidney stones problem and was kept in for an operation.

He will be back on the sidelines tomorrow when Liverpool go to Arsenal looking to extend their one-point lead at the top of the Premier League.

But his absence from the training ground has had no negative impact on the preparations due to the painstaking forward planning that the Spaniard is renowned for.

“To say that we don’t miss him would be totally wrong because he is the manager, he is such a presence,” said Lee.

“But it is a credit to him and the way he has set things in place that it means we can go on with him not being here.

“The work we put in is planned weeks and months in advance so, depending on the weather or if players have injuries, we all know what we are going to be doing.

“His presence has been missed about the place but he puts his plans in place and he relies on his coaches to implement those plans and we have done that.

“The players have done really well, they have focused and concentrated with all the stuff which has been going on in the background.”

Lee also described the frustrations of the manager at being away from Melwood during his recovery.

“Rafa has been hurt himself because he loves being on the training park,” added Lee. “He was in a lot of pain earlier in the week but he has got better and he will be there on Sunday.

“I have phoned him every day to keep in touch and let him know what has been going on.

“He doesn’t like being ill and he is not happy when he is away from the football club but he will be there on Sunday.”

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