International breaks are a source of great frustration at Melwood.
Just when you are building up a head of steam your top stars depart and jet off around the world.
Even if they come back fit, fatigue is a major concern and there is little time to prepare for your next assignment.
For the past 10 days Rafa Benitez has been left with less than a dozen senior players to work with.
Practice matches against the under-18s and the reserves have helped to kill time before he finally welcomed back most of his squad yesterday. Javier Mascherano and Lucas Leiva will complete the line-up today.
It’s hardly ideal but Benitez admits Liverpool could actually benefit from the events of midweek.
Reds skipper Steven Gerrard and full-back Glen Johnson were instrumental in England’s 5-1 thrashing of Croatia.
Gerrard’s two-goal burst in a left wing role provided further evidence he’s getting back to his best, while Johnson answered his critics with an excellent display down the right.
Both returned to Melwood buoyant having secured World Cup qualification and Benitez is hoping they will carry on against Burnley where they left off at Wembley.
“They will be on a high and doing well for England is really good for their confidence,” he said. “Now they don’t need to be worried about qualifying and when internationals do come along now they can just go and enjoy it.
“I have been talking about Steven's best position for years, but he is a very good player who can play in any position in midfield or further forward.
“He is doing well for England on the left and if he plays in the middle or as a second striker he will be good too. In playing him on the left, I think Steven knows he has freedom and can go inside.
“Glen has been really good for us since the first day he was here. We knew we had signed a player with a very good offensive mentality and a decent defender who is improving.
“I was surprised to see some criticism the other day. He can improve and he knows this. Glen is a young player who is still learning every day.
“I think he has done really well for England and I know Capello has been supporting him. When I’ve seen him play for England or for us he has been a real threat to teams. His understanding of the game is good.”
Benitez admits his side haven’t been at their best during the opening month of the campaign.
But he is confident they will build on their dramatic 3-2 win at Bolton a fortnight ago.
“The team has not played at the level we can, but hopefully the win against Bolton will be a lift for us,” he said. “It’s always difficult to beat them and that win was good for the confidence of the team.
“We showed the character you need in those kind of games and hopefully for the rest of the season we can do the same.
“Our pre-season wasn’t the best with a lot of players returning at different times.
“We tried to manage the situation and then we had another international break, so we didn’t have too much time.
“Sometimes you can see players need to improve physically or in terms of match fitness. It’s just a question of time.”
Benitez is banking on a flying start to help ensure the Reds defeat a newly-promoted Burnley side who have already beaten Manchester United and Everton.
He said: “In these games you have to do really well from the beginning. If you make mistakes everybody will be more worried about the situation and the players will play with more pressure.
“Normally when you are playing with more pressure you make more mistakes so it’s important we do things right from the start.”
Just when you are building up a head of steam your top stars depart and jet off around the world.
Even if they come back fit, fatigue is a major concern and there is little time to prepare for your next assignment.
For the past 10 days Rafa Benitez has been left with less than a dozen senior players to work with.
Practice matches against the under-18s and the reserves have helped to kill time before he finally welcomed back most of his squad yesterday. Javier Mascherano and Lucas Leiva will complete the line-up today.
It’s hardly ideal but Benitez admits Liverpool could actually benefit from the events of midweek.
Reds skipper Steven Gerrard and full-back Glen Johnson were instrumental in England’s 5-1 thrashing of Croatia.
Gerrard’s two-goal burst in a left wing role provided further evidence he’s getting back to his best, while Johnson answered his critics with an excellent display down the right.
Both returned to Melwood buoyant having secured World Cup qualification and Benitez is hoping they will carry on against Burnley where they left off at Wembley.
“They will be on a high and doing well for England is really good for their confidence,” he said. “Now they don’t need to be worried about qualifying and when internationals do come along now they can just go and enjoy it.
“I have been talking about Steven's best position for years, but he is a very good player who can play in any position in midfield or further forward.
“He is doing well for England on the left and if he plays in the middle or as a second striker he will be good too. In playing him on the left, I think Steven knows he has freedom and can go inside.
“Glen has been really good for us since the first day he was here. We knew we had signed a player with a very good offensive mentality and a decent defender who is improving.
“I was surprised to see some criticism the other day. He can improve and he knows this. Glen is a young player who is still learning every day.
“I think he has done really well for England and I know Capello has been supporting him. When I’ve seen him play for England or for us he has been a real threat to teams. His understanding of the game is good.”
Benitez admits his side haven’t been at their best during the opening month of the campaign.
But he is confident they will build on their dramatic 3-2 win at Bolton a fortnight ago.
“The team has not played at the level we can, but hopefully the win against Bolton will be a lift for us,” he said. “It’s always difficult to beat them and that win was good for the confidence of the team.
“We showed the character you need in those kind of games and hopefully for the rest of the season we can do the same.
“Our pre-season wasn’t the best with a lot of players returning at different times.
“We tried to manage the situation and then we had another international break, so we didn’t have too much time.
“Sometimes you can see players need to improve physically or in terms of match fitness. It’s just a question of time.”
Benitez is banking on a flying start to help ensure the Reds defeat a newly-promoted Burnley side who have already beaten Manchester United and Everton.
He said: “In these games you have to do really well from the beginning. If you make mistakes everybody will be more worried about the situation and the players will play with more pressure.
“Normally when you are playing with more pressure you make more mistakes so it’s important we do things right from the start.”
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