Rafa refuses to chuck in title towel
Benitez's side have struggled for form in the early stages of this season
Also In The News
|
New Great Britain coach Peter Lundgren has revealed his first task is to persuade Tim Henman to return to Davis Cup action. |  |
Tuesday, 24, Oct 2006 07:46
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is still holding out hope that his out-of-form side can resurrect a title bid in spite of a wretched start to the season.
His side have collected only one point from their opening five away games and now languish in the bottom half of the Premiership table, but the former Valencia boss believes that the 11-point gap between the Reds and the league's pace-setters may not be insurmountable.
"I don't need to think about the title. We are 11 points behind and we are not stupid, we know it will be difficult," conceded the Spaniard in an interview with Sky Sports News.
"It depends on the players and the other teams, but my idea is clear. I am positive and with the mentality in Liverpool we want to fight.
"I will continue fighting and will look to improve. It is clear if we can start winning now and keep going."
The Anfield outfit's abject performance in their 2-0 loss to north-west rival Manchester United at the weekend marked the nadir of an unhappy run of four consecutive away defeats for the Merseysiders.
But according to Benitez, his team are suffering due to injuries to high-profile players and the need for summer signings to adapt to their new surroundings.
"[Craig] Bellamy was injured, [Steven] Gerrard was coming back and then we had the goalkeeper, defenders and players in front of them - [Momo] Sissoko, Xabi [Alonso] and Gerrard - were the same players who played last season when we had 33 clean sheets," he said.