Rafael Benitez has given the strongest indication so far that he
is not about to jump ship at Liverpool and take over at Real
Madrid.
The Spanish boss admits he is bitterly disappointed with the loss
of Liverpool's Champions League crown but points out he has strong
plans for the club.
Benitez has added several youngsters to his squad as he
builds for the future at Anfield.
He believes bringing in youth will create a stronger emotional
attachment between players and club in the future than would exist
if he merely signed seasoned professionals.
Benitez said: 'Rick Parry (chief executive) and the board are
working on solutions for the future, and I have confidence in
them.
'I do not know if we have more or less money - but we are working
on new ideas, working with the players we have and thinking about
who we have out on loan.
'Then we will consider the transfer market and making use of what
we already have here.
'This does not affect my own plans. We have signed Antonio
Barragan, Gabriel Paletta and Daniel Agger, while Mark Gonzalez
will be here in the summer - all very young players for the
future.
'If as a manager you are thinking about your future then you cannot
sign players who are 20 and 21 years old. It would be better for me
to sign players who are 28 with experience.
'Then you can work with them for one year, two years and then
finish. We are thinking about young players for the future, not for
just one season.'
He added: 'The club are working to improve, they have been working
for a couple of years trying to find some more money, I know they
are looking and trying to find solutions.
'If they cannot I will try to do my best, for sure. It is difficult
to say if you lose the Champions League whether things will be more
difficult.
'As a manager you must work with the players that you have. We will
try to improve the squad and the players with the money we have at
this moment. If we had more money, yes it would be better.'
The build-up to Liverpool's shattering defeat by Benfica was dogged
by speculation about Benitez's future and his clear agenda for the
board to find funds to spend in the transfer market.
But the day after the nightmare loss of the European Cup at
Anfield, Benitez was again insisting he is planning long term, not
for a quick exit.
He said: 'I am only concerned with winning the next game and
working as hard as possible for my club.
'I do not have a problem now, I want to improve my team this season
and in the future.
'If you continue winning in the Champions League you will earn more
money. We do not have that any more so we need to work with the
players here and try to find the best solution in terms of
money.
'Sometimes it is not just receiving a big amount of money that
solves things, it is how you use your imagination with how you
spend what you have.
'In football everything can change after one game. Now we need to
think about the future but you cannot say we are worse than one day
before playing Benfica.
'We are the same team and we need to think about the Premier League
and FA Cup now.
'If you want to improve you can do it by working harder or by
signing new players. We are working on buying good players for us,
every big club is doing that, everyone needs to improve and change
things if needed.
'But this is normal, it is nothing new, just the same for every
club when you finish a season. It is the same every year.
'The players are not thinking about what happens in the future,
they are only thinking about winning, we are professionals.'
Benitez has made it clear, however, that he will mark the end of
Liverpool's great European adventure by accelerating the search for
new players.
The Anfield hierarchy will have to come up with the cash for
Benitez who said: 'We need to work harder looking for new players
because we know what the situation is and what must be done.
'We are working now. The scouting department is working on
improving the team.
'When you lose a game as important as this one, I prefer not to
talk about new players or current players. Or what mistakes we
made. I just want to change such things.
'In terms of our mentality, we need to be stronger. We must think
about the future and work hard now.'
Benitez's words will not be lost on Parry, still searching for new
investment to fund the proposed new stadium in Stanley Park, and
chairman David Moores.
duh.. ah ben.... signing youngsters would not solve the current
problem now. especially the striking problem. and yes u did sign
agger n barragan n all those youngsters but do u play them often?
does it mean we are going to play the same first team nex season if
we invest all our money on youngsters? duh..[/b]
