Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks has vociferously defended his
record at Anfield, claiming that the club have improved under the
stewardship of himself and George Gillett and revealing that Rafael
Benitez will be given a "substantial" transfer budget this
summer.
Hicks and Gillett decided last month to sell the club after more
than three tempestuous years of infighting and fan protests, with
Hicks confirming that the duo hope to complete the sale by the end
of the year.
But despite mounting criticism over the way the pair have
conducted their affairs since taking over in March 2007, Hicks
claimed Liverpool had actually improved under their leadership.
Having posted their worst Premier League finish for 11 years -
seventh - speculation has grown about the futures of Benitez,
striker Fernando Torres and captain Steven Gerrard.
However, Hicks said although they were in the process of finding
new buyers, he and Gillett did not want to cash in on their prize
assets - despite the debt of parent company Kop Holdings rising to
£351 million last summer - and were prepared to invest heavily in
the squad.
"We have no intention of selling any of our top players and we
have a substantial transfer budget in place,'' Hicks told Sky
Sports News. "There's so much misinformation about transfer
spending.
"It's more than doubled under the ownership of George and myself
from the previous three years and we will make a significant
investment this summer. It's really about getting the right
players.
"There's been so much misinformation put out by people who have
their own agendas and it's unfortunate. But the truth is the club
is much better off than it was three years ago.
"We've done our best. I'm disappointed on a personal level that
are efforts have not been received as well as I wish they had have
been.''
Benitez has suggested he needs at least £50 million to get the
club back on track in terms of challenging for the Champions League
places never mind the Premier League as they did in the 2008-09
season. Torres has also called for "four or five'' quality signings
this summer.
Hicks said he was prepared to make allowances for one season,
after watching the club struggle badly over the recent
campaign.
"We're all disappointed with where we finished this year," Hicks
said. "People forget that we almost won the Premier League last
year (finishing a close second to Manchester United with a record
86 points). We had injuries and players performing below their
level of expectation.''
Former chairman David Moores admitted on Wednesday that he
"hugely regrets'' selling to the Americans. In 2007 they paid £470
million for Liverpool, but having incurred so much debt in the
purchase and subsequent running of the club, many potential
investors baulked at the asking price of almost double that set by
Hicks last month.
However, the Texan believes that could be a fair price for a
club which has reached two Champions League finals, winning one,
since 2005.
"I think I have said £600-800million is not an unrealistic value
range, but the market's the market. We'll see,'' he said. "We will
sell the club. We're not going to sell it to the wrong group, we're
not going to sell it for the wrong price, we're going to do it in a
very thoughtful way.
"I don't anticipate it will be done necessarily before the
beginning of the next season. We hope it gets done by the end of
the calendar year.
"We're more concerned about finding the right next owner,
somebody that can make the investment in the club to get the
stadium built, and to let Liverpool be the best possible football
club in the world.
"The new stadium is fully designed now and the global financing
markets are back so I think with the change of ownership coming
we'll be able to have the new stadium built for Liverpool.''