Rafa Benitez threw his weight behind Kenny Dalglish's bid to
become Liverpool manager and hailed him as the perfect fit to
revive their fortunes.
Inter Milan's new coach made his first appearance before the
Italian media, but still found time to address his departure from
Anfield and the subject of who should replace him.
Despite Roy Hodgson remaining Liverpool's preferred choice,
Benitez insisted Dalglish was best qualified to appease disgruntled
fans and ease some of the pressure on owners Tom Hicks and George
Gillett.
King Kenny: Former Kop boss Rafa Benitez insists
Dalglish is the perfect man to take charge of Liverpool
Reflecting on the way Dalglish has been revered by Liverpool
followers ever since his arrival from Celtic in 1977, the former
Liverpool manager said: 'I think they should look at Kenny
Dalglish. He is the best man for the job. The owners should listen
to the fans because they are unhappy.
'No one knows the club better than Dalglish, and he would be
perfect there. He wants the job and in my opinion he should get
it.'
Benitez was axed earlier this month amid claims that several
senior players had lost faith in him during a calamitous season in
which Liverpool would have missed out on Europe altogether, but for
Portsmouth's financial predicament.
Italian job: Benitez was unveiled as Inter Milan's
new boss on Tuesday
He strongly denied losing the dressing room, though, and
revealed that he made a point of sending birthday wishes to Steven
Gerrard when the Liverpool skipper was 30 at the end of last
month.
'Before I left, I spoke with 95 per cent of the Liverpool
players, and I contacted Steven Gerrard on his birthday,' he
added.
'The majority said, "Thank you for everything". I spoke with
Gerrard, and he was fine. In fact, he wished me well. I left on a
positive note and the relationship with the players was good.
'It was hard for me to leave Liverpool. It was really difficult
and I was sad to go. It was not easy, because the fans on the Kop
were always fantastic to me. All the fans were like that. It was a
sad day when I left, but I had to do it.
'My youngest daughter grew up in Liverpool. I was there for six
years and she is only seven, so we will be looking at English
schools. Both the girls were very attached to Liverpool - neither
of them supports Everton.'
Benitez, who signed a two-year contract worth more than
£4million a year, was frequently at odds with his predecessor Jose
Mourinho, when they were rivals in the Barclays Premier League.
He hinted he may seek his advice, though, once he has assessed
his squad and the former Chelsea boss has settled in at Real
Madrid.
'I haven't spoken with Mourinho, because I have been very busy
and so has he,' he said.
'Maybe I will talk with him in a few weeks when we are not so
busy.
'I am not an anti-Mourinho, and I believe he did a good job
here. We are different, but I like to win and I like to play good
football, so I don't think we are all that different. I am not
going to change anything, because that would not be very
clever.'
Going nowhere: Liverpool have denied reports that
Fernando Torres is subject of a £50m enquiry from rivals
Chelsea
Benitez confirmed he will look to strengthen Inter's squad,
despite last season's eye-catching success at home and in Europe,
and has been linked with moves for Liverpool midfielders Javier
Mascherano and Dirk Kuyt.
'I cannot talk about players at other clubs,' he said. 'I will
discuss possible transfer targets with the people here, but I think
we will be looking to bring in top-level players.
'A few years ago, there was interest in me from Inter, but we
didn't have any direct contact. Now this opportunity has come at
the right time, and I mean to make the most of it.
'In Italy, you live and breathe football. In Sardinia, where I
was on holiday, I saw reporters and paparazzi at my hotel in all
positions, 4-5-1, 4-3-3.'
Liverpool, meanwhile, denied claims that Chelsea had offered
£50m for striker Fernando Torres and reiterated their stance that
any such approach would be rejected.