Anyone who believes the FA Cup means very little to Rafael Benitez should glance towards the directors’ box at Deepdale this evening.
The Liverpool manager will once again assume his temporary vantage point for his team’s third round clash against Coca-Cola Championship side Preston North End.
Benitez takes to the stands as he continues to recover from the two operations to remedy a kidney stones complaint.
While the Spaniard accepts staying at home would increase the rate of his return to full health, there is no chance of him watching on television and directing operations via a mobile phone as against Arsenal last month.
However, Benitez has revealed he is still being troubled by the after-effects of his surgery.
“I am improving,” says the Anfield manager. “I will need time. The first week was very, very painful. After the Arsenal game I was a little bit worse because you have more anxiety and stress. After the second operation I feel much better.
“I will not be in dug-out because I cannot move properly and shout. If you don’t have too much energy then maybe you cannot transmit everything so it is better to stay in the stands and leave it to Sammy Lee and Mauricio Pellegrino.
“In terms of my health if I stay at home it would be easier, I would be fit sooner rather than later. But I think it is important for me to be there.”
Having stayed away from the 1-1 draw at the Emirates, Benitez was in attendance for the 3-0 home win over Bolton Wanderers on Boxing Day and the resounding 5-1 triumph at Newcastle United two days later.
On both occasions the Anfield manager communicated with the bench from the directors’ box, but has no intention of making it a permanent feature of his matchday.
“I prefer to be on the bench because you can shout and transmit things quickly,” says Benitez. “Because you have experience of football you can see things clearly, and when you go to the stands you see football in a different way.
“Maybe you can see some things there but you cannot transmit it properly. Both positions can be good but I prefer to stay on the bench.
“The game against Bolton and Newcastle I was in the stands I was going into the dressing room at half-time and talking to them.
“You can show that you are there, you are analysing you are giving support to them. It shows we are taking it seriously.”
Despite guiding Liverpool to their seventh FA Cup triumph in 2006, the Spaniard has often been accused of undermining the competition.
Infamous defeats at Burnley and last season to Barnsley at Anfield came with Benitez having fielded under-strength sides, while non-league Havant and Waterlooville also gave Liverpool a major shock 12 months ago before succumbing 5-2.
Liverpool will once again make changes this evening but, with Steven Gerrard starting and Fernando Torres likely to appear as substitute, the visitors will have a strong starting line-up.
“We will try to progress,” says Benitez. “The FA Cup is a fantastic competition for us and we will try and win it.
“My mind hasn’t changed, but the squad has. If you improve your squad and have more quality then it is easier to progress and win games.
“Every single year the squad is better, so you can change players and maintain the level of the team.”
Jamie Carragher is also aware of Liverpool’s indifferent FA Cup showing in recent times. The Anfield outfit have only reached the quarter-finals five times in the last 19 years, although on four of those occasions they went on to reach the final and won the trophy three times.
“Over the years our record hasn’t been that good,” says Carragher. “We either seem to go all the way and win it, or get knocked out early.
“We’re never in the quarter-finals or semi-finals on a regular basis, which is what we should be doing.
“We do that in the Champions League nearly every year and have to start doing it in the FA Cup too.”
This season marks the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, and Carragher sees this new campaign as an opportunity to pay tribute to the 96 Liverpool fans who died.
“It will be 20 years since Hillsborough, and that is something we are all obviously aware of,” says the centre-back.
“Because of that there will be extra significance attached to the competition for us. Going on to win it would be the perfect tribute to those who died.”
As well as Torres, Benitez can again today call on Martin Skrtel, who made an 11-minute appearance as substitute at Newcastle after almost three months out with a serious knee injury.
Fabio Aurelio is also nearing a comeback and the Liverpool manager says: “I think that all the players will be important but when you have Fabio Aurelio, Martin Skrtel and Fernando Torres coming back, players who have not played too much in the first half of the season, it is like signing two or three new players.
“I think signing Aurelio, Skrtel and Torres has been very cheap because we haven’t spent money. We are not desperate to go to the market.
“If we need something we will try but we are in a good position so we can use the players we have back now and the players we had before. I think we have enough numbers.”
The Liverpool manager will once again assume his temporary vantage point for his team’s third round clash against Coca-Cola Championship side Preston North End.
Benitez takes to the stands as he continues to recover from the two operations to remedy a kidney stones complaint.
While the Spaniard accepts staying at home would increase the rate of his return to full health, there is no chance of him watching on television and directing operations via a mobile phone as against Arsenal last month.
However, Benitez has revealed he is still being troubled by the after-effects of his surgery.
“I am improving,” says the Anfield manager. “I will need time. The first week was very, very painful. After the Arsenal game I was a little bit worse because you have more anxiety and stress. After the second operation I feel much better.
“I will not be in dug-out because I cannot move properly and shout. If you don’t have too much energy then maybe you cannot transmit everything so it is better to stay in the stands and leave it to Sammy Lee and Mauricio Pellegrino.
“In terms of my health if I stay at home it would be easier, I would be fit sooner rather than later. But I think it is important for me to be there.”
Having stayed away from the 1-1 draw at the Emirates, Benitez was in attendance for the 3-0 home win over Bolton Wanderers on Boxing Day and the resounding 5-1 triumph at Newcastle United two days later.
On both occasions the Anfield manager communicated with the bench from the directors’ box, but has no intention of making it a permanent feature of his matchday.
“I prefer to be on the bench because you can shout and transmit things quickly,” says Benitez. “Because you have experience of football you can see things clearly, and when you go to the stands you see football in a different way.
“Maybe you can see some things there but you cannot transmit it properly. Both positions can be good but I prefer to stay on the bench.
“The game against Bolton and Newcastle I was in the stands I was going into the dressing room at half-time and talking to them.
“You can show that you are there, you are analysing you are giving support to them. It shows we are taking it seriously.”
Despite guiding Liverpool to their seventh FA Cup triumph in 2006, the Spaniard has often been accused of undermining the competition.
Infamous defeats at Burnley and last season to Barnsley at Anfield came with Benitez having fielded under-strength sides, while non-league Havant and Waterlooville also gave Liverpool a major shock 12 months ago before succumbing 5-2.
Liverpool will once again make changes this evening but, with Steven Gerrard starting and Fernando Torres likely to appear as substitute, the visitors will have a strong starting line-up.
“We will try to progress,” says Benitez. “The FA Cup is a fantastic competition for us and we will try and win it.
“My mind hasn’t changed, but the squad has. If you improve your squad and have more quality then it is easier to progress and win games.
“Every single year the squad is better, so you can change players and maintain the level of the team.”
Jamie Carragher is also aware of Liverpool’s indifferent FA Cup showing in recent times. The Anfield outfit have only reached the quarter-finals five times in the last 19 years, although on four of those occasions they went on to reach the final and won the trophy three times.
“Over the years our record hasn’t been that good,” says Carragher. “We either seem to go all the way and win it, or get knocked out early.
“We’re never in the quarter-finals or semi-finals on a regular basis, which is what we should be doing.
“We do that in the Champions League nearly every year and have to start doing it in the FA Cup too.”
This season marks the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, and Carragher sees this new campaign as an opportunity to pay tribute to the 96 Liverpool fans who died.
“It will be 20 years since Hillsborough, and that is something we are all obviously aware of,” says the centre-back.
“Because of that there will be extra significance attached to the competition for us. Going on to win it would be the perfect tribute to those who died.”
As well as Torres, Benitez can again today call on Martin Skrtel, who made an 11-minute appearance as substitute at Newcastle after almost three months out with a serious knee injury.
Fabio Aurelio is also nearing a comeback and the Liverpool manager says: “I think that all the players will be important but when you have Fabio Aurelio, Martin Skrtel and Fernando Torres coming back, players who have not played too much in the first half of the season, it is like signing two or three new players.
“I think signing Aurelio, Skrtel and Torres has been very cheap because we haven’t spent money. We are not desperate to go to the market.
“If we need something we will try but we are in a good position so we can use the players we have back now and the players we had before. I think we have enough numbers.”
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