Benitez confident of Reds' Premiership chances after
South-east Asian swing
JUST hours after Liverpool's 5-0 thrashing of Singapore here on
Sunday, manager Rafael Benitez said he has no doubt his side will
be title contenders again in the coming Premiership season.
The Reds got their first pre-season win under their belt with their
victory over the Lions in the same week arch-rivals Manchester
United were in the region, playing a Malaysian XI in Kuala
Lumpur.
Liverpool's Singapore result followed their 0-0 draw with St Gallen
of Switzerland, a 1-0 loss to Rapid Vienna and a 1-1 draw with
Thailand.
Benitez is upbeat about the year ahead and said that his squad are
starting to gel and find their form, with just three weeks until
their 2009-2010 English Premier League opener on Aug 16 against
Tottenham Hotspur.
"It was a good game. We worked hard and played at a high tempo with
a professional mentality," he said.
"I think we are improving physically every single day.
"Some of the players returned late from international duty so it
was important for them to play for 30 minutes.
"You can see that some of them are a little bit tired, but the
mentality and attitude was good and it was a very good game."
'We have to work harder'
Liverpool finished second to United last season but many feel this
year is their best chance to win the title since they last got
their hands on it 19 years ago.
Both United and the Reds are tied on 18 titles in England's top
flight and Liverpool fans will be desperate to deny their
arch-rivals from getting a record 19th crown.
"We have confidence that we can be at the top of table. It can
happen," said Benitez.
"The message is clear, we have to be contenders, we have to work
harder than last year. We need to get to the top of the table and
stay at top and be competitive for the whole season and hopefully
win the trophy."
A plus point for Liverpool on Sunday was a brace from young
Hungarian striker Krisztian Nemeth on his senior debut after
excelling in the reserves. Nemeth came on after an hour and wasted
no time in finding the back of the net.
Andriy Voronin, Albert Riera and Fernando Torres also got on the
scoresheet.
Liverpool flew back to England late on Sunday to prepare for a
friendly against Espanyol on Aug 2, with Steven Gerrard expected to
return. The Reds captain missed their Asian tour after standing
trial for fighting and was acquitted last Friday. AFP
"The message is clear, we have to be contenders, we have to work
harder than last year. We need to get to the top of the table and
stay at top and be competitive for the whole season and hopefully
win the trophy."
A plus point for Liverpool on Sunday was a brace from young
Hungarian striker Krisztian Nemeth on his senior debut after
excelling in the reserves. Nemeth came on after an hour and wasted
no time in finding the back of the net.
Andriy Voronin, Albert Riera and Fernando Torres also got on the
scoresheet.
Liverpool flew back to England late on Sunday to prepare for a
friendly against Espanyol on Aug 2, with Steven Gerrard expected to
return. The Reds captain missed their Asian tour after standing
trial for fighting and was acquitted last Friday.
Benitez (left) is confident of breaking Liverpool's title
drought, but Ferguson is not prepared to let that happen.
AFP