[lfc-news] Actions speak louder - Rafa

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Actions speak louder - Rafa Oct 28 2005
By Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo

THE ANNUAL Anfield 'crisis' seems to be getting earlier every year.

Normally the supporters can mark their calendars in preparation - it's
usually around the AGM - but this season the Reds have managed to break a
club record by provoking hysteria before the clocks go back.

Rafa Benitez's favourite saying at such times is 'after a Sunday, there is
a Monday'. He's not wrong. On Sunday he was criticised for not publicly
criticising his players and on Monday he was attacked for doing so.

There was similar flak flying on Tuesday night when he refused to fire a
broadside at the team which lost to Crystal Palace.

Benitez's policy of restraint has as much to do with refusing to feed the
London-based reporters as backing his team.

But three days on from Selhurst Park, in the more comfortable surroundings
of his Melwood office, Benitez is more candid than he was to unfamiliar
faces, explaining why he was right to protect his side after the Carling
Cup exit.

"When I look into the eyes of the players, I know if they're as
disappointed as I am by a defeat," he said..

"It's true each personality is different and you see the hurt more in some
players than others, but I believe they all felt the same on Tuesday night.

"I have known most of these players for a year and a half and I know which
ones are most upset after a game like that and if I need to say anything or
not.

"Some people said to me you must publicly attack the players after such a
defeat, but I won't do so if I believe they've worked hard.

"I can admit mistakes were made, but once the game is over, what can you
change about that?

All you can do is work harder to make sure the same mistakes are never made
again."

Working harder is a recurring theme in Benitez interviews.

It's a clever phrase which is often taken solely to apply to the play-ers,
but actually covers a broader canvas across all levels of the football club.

"When I talk about working harder, I include the staff as part of the
team," he says.

"If we need to do some more, we will. I expect 100 per cent from the
players, and the staff must set the example by dedicating all their time to
Liverpool until we are at the right level. Maybe in life it's impossible to
give 100 per cent to your job. Okay, I'll accept 98 per cent until we're
where we should be.

"It's important for us to realise improving a club doesn't just apply to
the first team. When you appoint a manager and you decide to change things,
you're admitting something is wrong in the first place. Everyone at the
club has to push forward to make sure we improve.

"Maybe winning the Champions League has created more expectation and given
us a greater challenge. I had the same situation at Valencia when we won
the title. Everyone said we were the best team in Spain and should win
every season, but we knew we had to keep improving because the others would
work harder to beat us.

"It wasn't luck which brought us the Champions League last year. We
deserved to win it. But we also knew how strong our opponents were and that
Chelsea, Juventus and AC Milan would respond to losing by improving their
squads for the new season to ensure if we meet, it won't happen again.

"We knew we had to do same. I think our squad has gone up a step, but so
too have those of all the other top teams, so we need to take some extra
steps and go up another level."

It speaks volumes about Benitez's self-belief that in the aftermath of
defeat to Crystal Palace, he's still talking in terms of Europe's elite
being Liverpool's main rivals.

Whisper it quietly, but there is even a feeling losing in the Carling Cup
could prove a 'blessing in disguise' given Liverpool's lack of strength in
depth.

The Reds can drown their sorrows by becoming World Club champions soon,
while, encouragingly, Benitez is eager to make the phrase 'squad rotation'
redundant.

"People talk about rotation, but I always try to use the best team in each
league game," he insists..

"When you have a lot of fixtures and some injuries, that's not always easy.

"If you are in many competitions, you need to manage the squad carefully,
but my idea is to always use the strongest team I have for the Premiership.
That's the ideal, but you need all the play-ers available for nine months
to do this and that's not always possible.

"Kewell, Morientes and Gerrard have been out injured recently, but when
they are fit and on their best form, they are among the strongest players.

"In my mind, I intend to play the best eleven I have in each league match.
Maybe people will disagree which is my best and say I make mistakes, but I
know the side I feel is our strongest.

"If we can get the right results in the Champions League next week and
qualify quickly, it will help me even more to concentrate on the
Premiership for the next few months.

"I've always felt the Premiership was the main priority this season,
followed by the Champions League and FA Cup."

After yet another difficult week, Benitez is defiant in his optimism.

"As a manager I've enough experience to know how difficult it is to get
your head up after the defeats we've had," he says..

"But you can't change the situation unless you confront it. We know we've
made mistakes, but we won't change anything by talking, only by acting."

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