Steve Hunter 02 October 2006
Rafael Benitez has shrugged off the disappointment of losing at Bolton on Saturday and assured supporters that he's more determined than ever to see Liverpool put right the wrongs and get back to challenging for a place at the top of the table.
While the Liverpool manager is still unhappy with the assistant referee's mistake that led to Pepe Reina being wrongly penalised for handball outside the area, Benitez believes that the best way to react is with even more hard work.
"After the weekend we've had, I feel even more determination for working harder, improving the side and seeing the best from my team, and I want to see the same response from the players," he revealed.
"They know if we don't get the decisions, the best response is to score more goals. If we have had 14 shots on goal, we must be determined to have 30. If there's a big mistake in the game, we don't want to depend on the decisions to create more chances of our own.
"I'm not a manager who likes to talk and talk. I like to work and work. We are starting from now with the six players we have, but I expect those who've left for international duty to think a lot about what happened on Saturday and be ready to show a reaction when they come back in 10 days.
"I know a lot of people are talking about stupid things when they talk about the game. In the first half we played better than Bolton, and had a lot of shots on goal, but it's true we didn't create clear chances. The decision of the linesman was a turning point. It's the first time I have seen a linesman who wants to be a star. But in future we must make sure we don't lose games because of these mistakes.
"There is a big difference between the final score and what happened in the game. It's really frustrating because in different games there have been similar situations, and I hope by the end of the season these things will balance.
"In the last three away games, it's clear we've had more shots than our opponents and we've not taken our opportunities. I would be more worried if we'd played three games and not looked like scoring, but because we could have scored goals in all these games we must still feel positive.
"We need to improve our accuracy in front of goal, but I still believe in the players and know we will be better this season. The fixture list has made things virtually impossible for us at times. We have a lot of games when the players come back, but at least we'll be able to train with them. I spoke to a lot of them yesterday, and between now and when they come back, I will be talking to most of them on the phone and telling them to think hard about what we must do when they come back."
I think a few players will be getting an earfull off Rafa, and a few others will be happy to be on international duty rather than facing Rafa this week.
You have to feel sorry for the six players who arnt on international duty, Rafa will be taking all his frustrations out on them. Poor old Robbie
I sense he's not too happy with some of the internationals, and FWIW I don't think he was telling Reina to think about what happened but to someone else.
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