Liverpool manager, Rafa Benitez, says that now he has all of his key players fit, he hopes this will be enough for the club to secure fourth place.

Liverpool have fallen way off the pace this year because of some poor football and some very bad results. The side have missed key players for long stretches and now Benitez has everyone fit, he thinks his side could be too strong.

However, Spurs and Manchester City are leading the way for the fourth place spot, which leads to Champions League football. Liverpool are relying on them slipping up in order for the Reds to be able to claw back the gap.

Rafa said: “If they can stay fit I think it will be very important because you have more options. When you have two games a week it is important to have different players available so you can change the system and you can keep the tempo. It is really important to have Fernando, Gerrard and Maxi available.”

“I can see Fernando is focused and he wants to do well. We are surprised sometimes by what he can do but my idea is that he can improve. He knows how to get better. Two goals and a great performance again against Sunderland is what the team needed.”

“Johnson is an attacking defender and sometimes when you have the team playing well at home and everyone is going forward he can be a real threat. He had one or two chances against Sunderland and he was very dangerous down the right side. At this moment we have to concentrate on what we can change now – to play well on the pitch and try to be as close as possible to the top four and progress in the Europa League and the other things will come.”

“I think it depends on us. If we keep winning our games – there are difficult games – we will be closer and every week will be different. Sunday at Birmingham will be tough but if we can win our games I think they [Tottenham, City and Villa] will lose some points and I think we can be there.”

Liverpool will have to finish fourth because they have a number of players in their squad who have quality, which demands European competition. The risk is that if they don’t secure this, these players could walk away from the club.

This will put Liverpool back another step and another until they start to become a mediocre midtable Premier League side. However, with everyone fit they have a very good chance of winning the Europa League, which would mean European football of some description next season at least.

The side cannot fall into the trap of overly relying on Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard all over again. It was this reliance, which meant they slipped way off the pace in the first place. It is also this sort of reliance, which threatens to tear Manchester United’s season apart with the new injury to Wayne Rooney.

Liverpool defender, Jamie Carragher, says there is still time for the club to recover and secure Champions League football for next season.

Liverpool conceded ground after they were beaten at Old Trafford by the champions and the fact that Manchester City won. Liverpool now have their work cut out to hang onto that vital last European slot.

Liverpool have relied on the Champions League to provide them with extra income and higher class competition over the last few seasons. They have been consistent and even won the competition back in 2005.

He said: “We have just got to recover from this as quickly as possible and get on a run of victories. Of course we believe we can still close the gap. They (Liverpool’s rivals) will have difficult spells and we have got to make sure we take maximum points when they do.”

“Maybe there will be more criticism of us now and at a club like Liverpool, the pressure is never off. Things are a bit more difficult but we have still got lots of points to play for.”

“We did well to a certain point but we played last Monday, then again on Thursday and then had to come into this match. The squad hasn’t been strong enough for one reason or another this season but it was still a big ask to go there after that run, particularly as United had all week to prepare.”

“But we have lost and you have got to move on, as this was the most difficult fixture we had before the season end.”

Liverpool have no excuse for their bad run of form, which has lasted a number of months and not weeks as is the case with most teams.

They were also knocked out of the Champions League a long time ago, which gave them the chance to focus domestically on the season and making sure that no one could beat them to fourth place.

However, the poor form has continued. It seems that Rafa Benitez’s men are becoming increasingly predictable to work out and once the opposition get their tactics correct, Liverpool are done for.

Carragher and a number of other players in the side all have the experience and the class to know how to deal with the current situation. The point is that it seems to have gone on for longer than ever before.

Liverpool have only just got back some first choice players and the goal that Fernando Torres scored against United yesterday showed the class the side has been missing over recent times.

It is difficult to see how or where the side are going to make up the ground they have lost. The challenge from other sides has been stronger than ever before and this may prove too difficult for Liverpool to compete with.

Watch this space but the likes of Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have never been in this position before so they are likely to snap hands off.

A highly rated Liverpool player has lost patience with the club and launched a seething attack on manager, Rafa Benitez.

Albert Riera says the manager has not communicated with his squad, which has led to certain areas of the team becoming unsure and confused over the roles they are being asked to play in the team.

Riera is a highly rated winger who would have been hoping to nail down a place in the side ahead of the World Cup this summer. He is one of the fringe players for Spain who would want to get himself noticed.

However, he says this is virtually impossible in a Benitez squad because of the fact the manager chops and changes the team so regularly. It makes it impossible for a player to settle.

He said: “When the coach says nothing to you and you are well, with no physical problems and training well, you cannot help but think it must be something personal.”

“If I’m doing something badly and you are my boss, and you value me, then you are going to come and tell me what I have to do to play again. This is what hurts me. You see that the team are not doing well and there are no changes. It’s a little frustrating because you see that you can help.”

“I’ve been here two years and I know how he (Benitez ) is. He’s never sorted out a situation with a player by talking with him. He thinks he’s in charge and everything else falls on deaf ears. His dialogue with the players is practically nil.”

“I would like to be here for the rest of my career, but players live to play. My objective is to go to the World Cup and for this I have to play. Right now the only market open is the Russian one, I have offers from two teams and, looking at my situation, that has made me reflect a lot.”

It is so clear that there is a bitter frustration building up in Riera and there will be similar feelings in other parts of the Liverpool squad. This is natural because a big summer is coming up and players want to play.

Riera snapped Liverpool’s hand off when a good contract offer was made to him but for some reason or another, Benitez doesn’t seem to want to play him. This will be very annoying to a player who will feel that he can add another dimension to a side.

The Spaniard has a very good point too in relation to the fact that one of the main reasons Liverpool are struggling is the fact that they do not change key areas of their side.

Fringe players get rotated on a weekly basis but the important, core areas, which go a long way towards winning games stay in place. When these areas are not playing well, it reflects on the whole of the team..

Manchester United defender, Darren Fletcher, has said that the current Premier League champions have to be on their guard to see off Liverpool this weekend.

Liverpool make the trip to Old Trafford short on form and with a number of problems in key areas of the side. Although their last run out produced a 4-0 win, the side has not played well for large parts of the season.

United look to be hitting their straps at just the right time and it will be difficult for Liverpool to produce the performance they came up with at the same ground last season when they beat United 4-1.

Fletcher said: “It would be very dangerous to think this is a poor Liverpool side coming to Old Trafford because they are anything but. It would be a huge mistake to think that Liverpool are not a threat. They maybe haven’t had the season we expected after last year but they are still a dangerous side.”

“They are still in the main the same team. We know what they are capable of and pushed us all the way and dished out that defeat here and the one at Anfield this season. They are still fresh in our memories.”

“Liverpool still have a lot to play for because they are battling for fourth spot. They are capable of beating anyone. We have to learn the lessons from last year’s game. The warnings are there. If you are not 100% focused and you make mistakes they will punish you.”

“It is a real surprise to me they haven’t been up with us. But they will still be fired up to win at Old Trafford again.”

United will also want some revenge as they have not beaten Liverpool in the recent past. These were also matches against weakened Liverpool sides so nothing can be taken for granted.

Sir Alex Ferguson has previously called this game as the fiercest rivalry in football. Liverpool always take a lot of fans to Old Trafford and they always make a lot of noise.

It is up to the United players to silence these away fans but it will probably be a lot more difficult than many United fans may think. Liverpool always raise their game for these sorts of occasions.

Manchester United will also hope that Liverpool boss, Rafa Benitez, tinkers with his side a great deal. Many Liverpool fans have said that a lack of tactical awareness is the main reason the side have not been playing well and this is the manager’s responsibility.

The game could go either way but United are the strong favourites at this stage. If Liverpool do not produce a single bit of the quality they’re capable of then they will get played off the park.

It would take a brave person to put money against the Champions at this stage of the season.

Rafa Benitez has reportedly told his players that he is sick of them playing the blame game and it is time for one and all to stand up and be counted.

Liverpool have not played good and attractive football for a very long time, which has led to a number of poor and disappointing results.

This has led to many people pointing the finger of blame as the players and fans have gone in search of answers. As far as the manager is concerned, enough is enough and he wants everyone to stand up and be counted until the end of the season.

He said: “I don’t think it is right to suggest there is any lack of trust between the players. You can look at last season as an example of that when these same players were doing well, playing with confidence and winning games and there was not a problem.”

“But against Wigan the keeper (Jose Reina ) was blaming the defenders for something that was wrong and the defenders were blaming the keeper. It happens in games but I don’t like it. If you are showing your disappointment with that sort of body language it is sending out the wrong message.”

“It is not positive and I don’t want to see this sort of reaction. I accept that each player is different but it is important to show leadership qualities and the right approach to your team-mates. I have told them I want an improvement and that if an error is made the person responsible must be kept on board.”

It has not helped the club that many key players have been injured for important games and key stages of the season. It is no wonder Liverpool have been losing points if they have not been able to name their best side ever week.

One such player, Glen Johnson, hopes to return in Europe. He said: “We know they are going to have some players with pace in certain areas. They’re well-organised and will work hard, and we know they are playing very well at home. I’ve been out for a while but I feel really good, although I’m just getting my match fitness back.”

Benitez does have a very good point. When a team is not playing well, they do rely upon team spirit to try and get them through each game. This case is no different and Liverpool must stick together if they are to have any chance of clinging onto fourth spot.

There are many areas the side can improve upon but history has shown that lower quality teams can succeed if they have a good team spirit and believe in each other. All Benitez is asking for is a little togetherness at a crucial stage.

Once Liverpool get a first choice team back on the field and once the players put their squabbles to one side, they are capable of repeating the performances of beating the likes of Manchester United on their own ground last year.

Things do not appear to be getting any better for Liverpool with a defeat at the hands of Wigan and a brand new controversy for Steven Gerrard.

The Liverpool captain appeared to make an insulting gesture towards referee, Andre Marriner, during the match last night after he was booked for sliding into a challenge a little too late.

Marriner talked to the player and booked him before Gerrard appeared to make a v sign at the referee while he was backing away from the incident.

It is just the thing that Rafa Benitez said recently that he was looking to avoid as he tries to gear up his side for a difficult run in to the current Premier League campaign. Liverpool’s frailties were once again exposed.

Benitez said: “I don’t know, I was too far away. We have to be really disappointed. After a defeat always you cannot be happy, but after a defeat in this way … the first half we didn’t do anything. We gave the ball away, we didn’t win any first or second ball and that is difficult to explain.”

“I think it was a question of attitude in the first half. Sometimes we played too quickly, we were in too much of a hurry. It was a poor half. In the second half there was a much better attitude, but it was not enough.”

“We had some chances but we didn’t play well. If you approach the game in this kind of way you cannot win this kind of game — or maybe any game. Everyone is very low. There are too many things we cannot understand.”

You would have to say that based on this result, Liverpool will not be playing Champions League football next season.

The point is that when big teams play well but do not score too many goals, they always manage to find a way to win the game. This often leads to a number of valuable points by the time the end of the season arrives.

Liverpool simply cannot afford any more mistakes and they will have to rely on the teams above them to make their own. The only problem is that these teams very rarely make such mistakes.

No doubt the club will let the Gerrard row wash over like water off of a duck’s back but the point is that they just do not seem to be going anywhere quickly. The club need to start winning and stay out of the headlines for all of the wrong reasons.

Wigan will be pleased that they managed to battle through a game they would have been expected to lose. Roberto Martinez has been coming under a lot of pressure himself and this will result will go a long way to acting as a pressure release valve.

Wigan need a few more points to maintain their security in the Premier League and they’ll be happy they have bagged another three and stayed out of the limelight.

Liverpool manager, Rafa Benitez, is demanding focus ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League run in.

The manager has been under a lot of pressure and scrutiny in recent weeks because the fans have been saying the club doesn’t seem to be going any where under his management.

Liverpool have not been playing attractive football for a very long time and Benitez is demanding the focus, which is the only thing that has kept them in with a shout of securing a Champions League place for next year.

He said: “Manchester City, Tottenham and Aston Villa will be very dangerous so we cannot make many mistakes. We know last year was really good in terms of points in the league (86) and now we are in a different and more difficult situation because the expectations were very high.”

“It is really difficult because we have three or four teams really close. We have to keep this momentum and prove, show everyone else, we are good enough. I prefer to be positive and we will play well and continue to win.”

“We had problems on the right side (against Blackburn) with Mascherano playing full-back, which was a difficult decision. All the teams have good and bad moments, but they still have to carry on and go forward. If you analyse some games we have had too many injuries with big names unable to play.”

It is very difficult to see Liverpool hanging onto the fourth place position, which they have made their own for so very long. There are too many sides around them in better form who are capable of causing a huge upset and breaking into the top four.

Liverpool also do not look like a side who are in full sync with each other. There are too many injuries appearing in too many areas of the side, which will cost the team when the points are totted up at the end of the year.

The situation for them is quite a complex one to sort out. The ownership problems that once plagued the club do not seem to be a problem any more but the weakness of the over all squad definitely is.

There is still too much reliance on too few players at the club and it will take everyone pulling together to make the situation look much brighter for the club.

The problem is that Liverpool are playing the sort of football that a lot of lower league teams are well known for. When you use this style against a team that knows it inside out, it becomes very hard to win games and rack up points.

Benitez talks of focus and this means focus in every aspect of football. Liverpool will have to produce moments of pure quality, which have been lacking if they want to be the side that hangs onto that final Champions League position. It is a race that is certain to go right down to the final day of the season.

Liverpool face a potentially tricky situation when they take on Unirea Urziceni in a much criticised Europa League.

Many have said that the Europa League is an even worse competition than the UEFA Cup format it has replaced. Many clubs who have dropped out of the Champions League face the problem of motivating their high calibre players for irregular Thursday night games against unknown teams.

For Liverpool the form of European competition is being seen as a way of being able to transform their recent misfortunes. The Merseyside club have not played good football for a very long time and this could well end up being a morale booster as opposed to having the opposite effect.

Liverpool manager, Rafa Benitez, said: “Today the training session was good — it had intensity and everyone was focused. Tomorrow before the game we will see how the atmosphere is, but it depends on us, if we can play well and get everyone behind us. You have to adapt.”

“The problem, and it is a good problem, is that we were always involved in the Champions League since I was here, but now we will try to do well in the Europa League.”

“Clearly I have confidence we will finish in the top four and be in the Champions League again. We have to do our best in every competition. We want to be successful and be in the top four. To play three, maybe four [extra] fixtures when you don’t have time with international football — when will you play, how can you play these games, and what does it mean for the team that finishes fourth?”

“Maybe we can do the same with the teams at the bottom of the table. If you finish fourth maybe you could play the team who finished third from bottom. Then during the whole season we can play 50 games and we don’t have to rest, so that will be fantastic.”

“We are playing too much now. They were talking about a 39th game being played in Asia. If we now play the play-offs, we’ll be playing until the end of the century.”

Benitez quickly needs to get the team playing successful and attacking football. Liverpool have reminded many of the way a Bolton side played a few years ago. Terrible football but winning none the less.

A lot of Liverpool fans always used the team to enjoy and forget about the ownership problems that have plagued the club. Now it has become clear that it will take a catastrophic slump in the club’s fortunes for Benitez to be sacked, he has to get the team playing well again.

Liverpool should be under no illusions that their Europa League tie will be a tough one because there are some very good teams still left in the competition. If they go to sleep for one moment then Unirea will step in and add to the mounting problems.

Liverpool fans are widely known for their loyalty and support for whoever operates the Anfield hot seat. It’s a characteristic which influenced an added a season or two onto Gerard Houllier’s reign before he was ushered out The Shankly Gates in the summer of 2004.

A series of cup successes and a runners-up spot in the Premier League in 2002 – still the only time the reds have finished ahead of Manchester United in the Premier League – appeared to gift the Frenchman extra leeway for his final two flailing seasons in charge.

After finishing second to Arsenal that year with some of the best football us ‘pool fans had seen since the 80s, bookmakers took a substantial amount of money on Liverpool ending their title drought the following season, only to see them spectacularly fall back down to earth with a fifth place finish come May 2003.

Sound familiar? Of course it does. Fast-forward the best part of half a decade and Rafa Benitez, Houllier’s successor, finds himself in a similar predicament. Sunday’s 2-0 win in the Merseyside derby cannot offer even the most optimistic of Liverpool fans any hope of turning around this already wretched season.

With five defeats in the opening fourteen league games, the damage has already been done, and the less said about the early  exit the better. After Wayne Rooney’s poor-man’s hat-trick at Fratton Park, and Didier Drogba’s emphatic brace at the Emirates, the two best teams in the country continue to win at an alarmingly easy rate, while Benitez’s side lie some 13 points off the pace at the end of November with 10 points fewer than they had this time last season.

For all the support the Spaniard has from the Anfield faithful, myself included, his stubbornness is becoming increasingly frustrating. Despite two mediocre wins this week the side continue to struggle for any real fluency, so after spending a reported £20million on the clearly talented Alberto Aquilani, Benitez’s decision to repeatedly leave the Italian on the bench is even more baffling than his native language’s apparent need for inserting upside-down question marks on every written query.

My main concern now, however, is that I can see his reign going the way his French predecessor’s did. With Tottenham being rampant so far this season, and Aston Villa proving sturdy enough to grind out results, the prospect of finishing fifth a season after being runners-up is very, very genuine. The Londoners and the Villains have already notched up wins against Liverpool this season and I haven’t even mentioned Man City yet. All three offer the right credentials to finish ahead of Steven Gerrard and co., and so far the pressure has yet to get to them.

Benitez won’t be sacked – it’s too costly for the club after he signed a new five year deal in March of this year, a contract offer which could now leave the club owners with egg on their face. At the same time, it’s difficult to see the Spaniard quitting, for his stubbornness when under pressure can, at times, be even more pathetic than 34-year-old Gary Neville’s woeful attempts at growing facial hair. Come to think of it… maybe not quite that feeble.
What I will say is this – Liverpool should be monitoring Guus Hiddink’s situation with Russia. After failure to qualify for the World Cup, the Dutchman’s contract runs out next summer and, should my judgements in the previous paragraph prove incorrect (I have a history of Pele-esque predictions, most recently Reading for promotion), he would prove the outstanding candidate to replace Benitez.

Houllier was only granted one more season after missing out on Champions League football to Newcastle and Chelsea in 2003. And as Jamie Carragher’s best days sadly look to be behind him, coupled with Gerrard turning 30 at the end of this term’s failure-in-the-making, I wouldn’t be surprised if next year is Benitez’s last crack at the big one.

In Rafa we trust? I’m not so sure anymore.

Liverpool manager, Rafa Benitez, has said he is satisfied regardless of Liverpool’s win in their opening Champions League match against Debrecen. Liverpool won the match 1-0 but failed to cash in on the ample chances that they had through out the entire match.

On another night captain, Steven Gerrard, could have scored a hat trick but the manager says that as far as he is concerned, it is three points and a win is a win. Liverpool fans were audibly annoyed by the display, as the side struggled at times to make the most of their advantage.

Dirk Kuyt got the only goal of the game and even that was off a rebound after Fernando Torres had sent a tame shot in at the keeper. For Liverpool to stand a chance of competing against the bigger sides in the Champions League this season then they will have to drastically improve and improve quickly.

Benitez said: “This was always a dangerous game because before people were talking about us maybe scoring eight goals or something like this. But we knew that in Europe it is not easy, especially at this level.. They have won their league four times in the last five seasons because they have some quality so it was important just to get three points.”

“Today it was important just to win and now we can approach the next game with more confidence. We are winning games in a row now so hopefully confidence in the dressing room will be higher. You have to take your chances and then this type of game would be easy..”

“You have to give credit to them. They were well organised and they were working very hard, pressing every single ball. But they also made some mistakes in defence and we didn’t score – that was the difference for me. We had to be careful, especially at the end. We were expected to score a lot of goals and we had the chances but couldn’t score.”

Liverpool and the rest of the English sides all won their matches but were all unconvincing. It seems that Real Madrid were the only team to absolutely romp to a win as they scored five times in their opening match against FC Zurich.

Attention will now switch back to the Premier League but it looks like it will be an interesting campaign in Europe this year for Benitez’s men, one that they could just as easily do well in as fail in.