Saturday, December 12, 2009

Rafael Benitez Hoping To Halt Liverpool's Poor Premier League Form With A Win Over Arsenal

In the week Liverpool's Champions League elimination was made formal, following their 2-1 defeat by Fiorentina, Reds' boss Rafael Benitez has declared that the club will be taking their season one game at a time, beginning with their Anfield clash with Arsenal on Sunday.

The Merseysiders will be looking to halt a run of underwhelming domestic form that has seen them slip further and further away from the Premier League pace-setters, but Benitez is praying his side can begin bridging the gap by getting the better of Arsene Wenger's Gunners.

"As a manager you always know you have to work hard to win games, if you are not winning games it's difficult, but it's part of the job," Benitez told journalists at a pre-match press conference.

"I am just thinking about Arsenal," he said. "We have to play against Arsenal, try to win… then think about Wigan, think about Portsmouth, and carry on."

He continued: "Every game can be important until the end of the season. We start with this one, they are [near the] top of the table. If we win we'll be closer to the top four."

When asked how he and the club handle the vitriolic criticism levelled against Liverpool in recent weeks, he jested: "I switch off the volume of the Sky!"

On how managers handle the negative press, he added: "All the managers at top sides have to perform, there is a different situation at different clubs though.

"Arsene Wenger is a fantastic manager and people expect him to win trophies but he knows how difficult it is to do that."

No comments: