Article
Forget Chelsea and target fourth, Liverpool boss tells team
LIVERPOOL, England (AFP) - Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has ordered his players to win the battle for fourth place in the Premier League before thinking about their Champions League semi-final showdown with Chelsea.
Benitez's side are three points ahead of Everton with five games left in the race to finish in the top four.
Liverpool entertain Blackburn at Anfield on Sunday and then travel to Fulham before hosting Chelsea in the Champions League semi final first leg at Anfield on April 22.
And Benitez has told his players that he wants Liverpool to end Everton's hopes of finishing fourth in the next two games.
"That's what we've been telling the players," said the Spaniard. "We want to win every game now if it's possible and then see what happens with Everton.
"We want to make sure we can finish in the top four and then think about the semi-final.
"If we want to be sure about Champions League qualification then we are going to have to win four of our last five games. Maybe that number could be less, though."
Having watched his side's Premier League season fizzle out on their way to being crowned kings of Europe in 2005, Benitez believes his squad has the ability to reach this year's final in Moscow as well as finish the league season strongly.
"We have the experience to cope with this situation and we know it's important to be focused on the league," Benitez said.
"We are always talking about how important it is to finish in the top four. The players know, the staff know and so we have to be ready for this weekend."
The build-up to Liverpool's penultimate home league game of the season has been overshadowed by a dramatic twist in the power struggle which has enveloped the club for most of the season.
American co-owner Tom Hicks has demanded the resignation of long-serving chief executive Rick Parry - a controversial move which has been condemned by Hicks's business partner George Gillett, who is also co-owner.
Yet Benitez avoided questions about the boardroom split by cancelling his weekly press conference on Friday.
Instead he spoke only to the club's in-house Liverpool FC.TV ahead of the Blackburn match, his quotes posted on Liverpool's official website later in the day.
Asked about his reaction to the latest events behind the scenes, Benitez said: "I understand why you have to ask the question but, as I have told the players, we must be focused on football.
"We have an important game on Sunday and we have to concentrate on that."
Blackburn arrive at Anfield with an outside chance of qualifying for Europe next season and with Roque Santa Cruz in red-hot form.
Blackburn's manager Mark Hughes believes Paraguay forward Santa Cruz has proved better value for money than Fernando Torres at Liverpool.
Santa Cruz has netted 18 goals for Rovers, with Torres scoring 29 times in all competitions.
The two strikers are set to go head-to-head at Anfield on Sunday, but with Santa Cruz's 3.8 million pounds price-tag loose change in comparison to the 26.5 million pounds it cost Liverpool to land Torres, Rovers boss Hughes insists that his man has given more value for money.
"Roque and Torres would have to be up there as the two best buys of last summer," Hughes said.
"But pound-for-pound, I'm sure ours was the better buy. Roque was exactly what we needed. Torres always looks like he will score a goal, but I suppose when you pay 20-odd million pounds, that's the minimum you expect!
"We needed a player of Roque's stature and ability to keep us where we are. We got a great deal, we're very happy and we know Roque is as well."
Comments (0)