Rafael Benitez has spoken for the first time about his departure from Liverpool on the day that bookies have shortened their odds on Fulham manager Roy Hodgson taking over from the Spaniard in the Anfield dugout.
Newly installed as coach of Inter Milan, Benitez described how the news of his pending exit was relayed to him while he was on holiday but made clear that he maintains utmost respect for the ‘amazing’ supporters of the Reds. Liverpool won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FA Cup during the six years Benitez was in charge on Merseyside in an era which also saw Steven Gerrard persuaded to commit his future to the club and the acquisition of the exceptional Fernando Torres.
A victim of an off-field power struggle which left the club struggling to match their rivals financially, Benitez left Liverpool after his worst season in charge at Anfield. The Reds finished in seventh place in the Premier League and suffered humiliatingly early exits from the FA Cup, League Cup and Champoins League before falling in the semi-final of the Europa League.
Speaking about his time on Anfield and his ambitions for the future, Benitez revealed:
"It was really sad [leaving]. I was on holidays so it was a surprise that everything was going on in this way, but at the end of the day it has to be like this because Christian Purslow now is in charge so he decided to do it in this way, and that's it.
"But you have to move forward. I always say to my family that we cannot complain too much and the people of Liverpool are fighters. When I came here I was fighting from the beginning until the end so now I have to do the same [with Inter]. I have to think about the future.
"Again, I will say that I was really pleased here and the fans were amazing but now I cannot stand up and just complain or thinking about the good memories. I have to move forward and do the best for my new club."
No comments:
Post a Comment