Rafa: I have full support of club
Benitez will make changes for the 99th straight game against Villa
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Friday, 27, Oct 2006 10:11
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has insisted he has the full support of the club despite an unnamed director criticising the Spaniard in newspaper reports.
The Reds languish 11th in the table and are regarded as out of the title race after last weekend's 2-0 loss to arch rivals Manchester United.
Benitez's controversial rotation policy and tactics were slammed by the director in an article in the Mirror newspaper.
But the former Valencia boss said he would prefer to concentrate on tomorrow's match against unbeaten Aston Villa.
"I know that I have the support of the chairman, chief executive and the board," he said.
"I have seen the words written, and people have to write, and talk about football. I was surprised, but I would prefer to talk about football. I prefer to think about Aston Villa and how to beat them."
"I was taught by John Toshack at Real Madrid when to say 'no comment'."
The FA Cup holders are without a league win since beating Tottenham on September 23rd and will be looking to bounce back at Anfield against Martin O' Neill's side.
Meanwhile, chairman Rick Parry has pledged his support for Benitez and has insisted the club are moving forward.
"We understand the expectations at Liverpool but we are clearly moving in the right direction under Rafael Benitez," he said.
"We unquestionably have a better squad than we did last year so it is not about making judgements at this stage. There are no trophies handed out at the end of October, with the exception of the Community Shield which we have already won. "
"You can only judge our performance over the course of a full season."
Benitez is expected to start with Robbie Fowler and Peter Crouch against the Villa with Craig Bellamy, Dirk Kuyt, Fabio Aurelio and Mark Gonzalez doubtful.