Yossi Benayoun has revised his opinion on leaving Liverpool after finally coming to terms with Rafael Benítez's managerial style at Anfield. The Israel captain appeared destined for the Liverpool exit last summer after a debut season spent mostly on the margins of the squad. Manchester City, before the Abu Dhabi takeover, Spartak Moscow, Roma and Ajax all inquired about signing the 28-year-old before the start of this season and the Russians tried again in January as the midfielder's frustration with life at Anfield continued.
Benayoun spoke to Benítez in December about the prospect of leaving in the last transfer window but, with that inquiry rebuffed, has responded with the most productive spell of his two-year Anfield career. Until December the midfielder started in only seven of 23 games for Liverpool. Since then, however, he has started 11 of 19 and followed his match-winning performance at the Bernabéu with the goal that secured Liverpool's return to winning ways in the Premier League against Sunderland on Tuesday.
"I have come to appreciate that, at a big club like Liverpool, you can't take anything for granted," said Benayoun. "With the number of top players we've got, you accept you are not always going to be playing and that you have to give it everything when your chance comes along. That is fine with me. If I found myself going three or four months without setting foot on the pitch, it might be different. But as things stand, that is not an issue with me.
"I feel settled and I'm happy to be contributing. I am also learning how things work here. You can score a very famous goal, an absolutely crucial one, and it will all be forgotten the following day as far as the manager is concerned. He only thinks of the next challenge and that is how it should be. It has taught me you can't celebrate too long and I am already looking at my goal in Madrid that way. For me it will only be important if we go all the way and win the Champions League. Otherwise it will count for nothing."
It was following his winner against Real Madrid in the Champions League last week that Benayoun experienced the methods that prompted Steven Gerrard to admit one of his remaining ambitions at Liverpool is to receive congratulations from Benítez.
The Liverpool midfielder explained: "It was madness in our changing rooms after we won in Madrid last week and I had to take my mobile phone into the toilets to call my family. It was the only way I could make myself heard. Everyone was screaming and shouting, except for the manager, of course. He was his usual calm self.
"He didn't even congratulate us or shake hands. That's just how he is, and I am beginning to understand why. He is very professional, and he wants us to be the same all the time. He won't stand for any of us getting carried away or feeling we are superior to anyone else. My wife and young children had been jumping up and down with excitement, watching at home, but he didn't say a word to me about the goal. That's how it is with him. He likes keeping you on your toes."
Benayoun spoke to Benítez in December about the prospect of leaving in the last transfer window but, with that inquiry rebuffed, has responded with the most productive spell of his two-year Anfield career. Until December the midfielder started in only seven of 23 games for Liverpool. Since then, however, he has started 11 of 19 and followed his match-winning performance at the Bernabéu with the goal that secured Liverpool's return to winning ways in the Premier League against Sunderland on Tuesday.
"I have come to appreciate that, at a big club like Liverpool, you can't take anything for granted," said Benayoun. "With the number of top players we've got, you accept you are not always going to be playing and that you have to give it everything when your chance comes along. That is fine with me. If I found myself going three or four months without setting foot on the pitch, it might be different. But as things stand, that is not an issue with me.
"I feel settled and I'm happy to be contributing. I am also learning how things work here. You can score a very famous goal, an absolutely crucial one, and it will all be forgotten the following day as far as the manager is concerned. He only thinks of the next challenge and that is how it should be. It has taught me you can't celebrate too long and I am already looking at my goal in Madrid that way. For me it will only be important if we go all the way and win the Champions League. Otherwise it will count for nothing."
It was following his winner against Real Madrid in the Champions League last week that Benayoun experienced the methods that prompted Steven Gerrard to admit one of his remaining ambitions at Liverpool is to receive congratulations from Benítez.
The Liverpool midfielder explained: "It was madness in our changing rooms after we won in Madrid last week and I had to take my mobile phone into the toilets to call my family. It was the only way I could make myself heard. Everyone was screaming and shouting, except for the manager, of course. He was his usual calm self.
"He didn't even congratulate us or shake hands. That's just how he is, and I am beginning to understand why. He is very professional, and he wants us to be the same all the time. He won't stand for any of us getting carried away or feeling we are superior to anyone else. My wife and young children had been jumping up and down with excitement, watching at home, but he didn't say a word to me about the goal. That's how it is with him. He likes keeping you on your toes."
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