RAFA INTENSIFIES HIS WORK
Rafa Benitez went back to work after the weekend's defeat even more determined and fired up to prove his Liverpool side have the ability to take the top honours in the English game.
"After the weekend we've had, I feel even more determination for working harder, improving the side and seeing the best from my team, and I want to see the same response from the players," he revealed in an interview with the club's press.
Rafa went on to cite some of the poor decisions the reds have had from referees, but also that the chances haven't been getting put away - his conclusion being we need to double the number of chances we have.
"They know if we don't get the decisions, the best response is to score more goals. If we have had 14 shots on goal, we must be determined to have 30. If there's a big mistake in the game, we don't want to depend on the decisions to create more chances of our own.
"I'm not a manager who likes to talk and talk. I like to work and work. We are starting from now with the six players we have, but I expect those who've left for international duty to think a lot about what happened on Saturday and be ready to show a reaction when they come back in 10 days.
"I know a lot of people are talking about stupid things when they talk about the game. In the first half we played better than Bolton, and had a lot of shots on goal, but it's true we didn't create clear chances. The decision of the linesman was a turning point. It's the first time I have seen a linesman who wants to be a star. But in future we must make sure we don't lose games because of these mistakes.
"There is a big difference between the final score and what happened in the game. It's really frustrating because in different games there have been similar situations, and I hope by the end of the season these things will balance.
"In the last three away games, it's clear we've had more shots than our opponents and we've not taken our opportunities. I would be more worried if we'd played three games and not looked like scoring, but because we could have scored goals in all these games we must still feel positive.
"We need to improve our accuracy in front of goal, but I still believe in the players and know we will be better this season. The fixture list has made things virtually impossible for us at times. We have a lot of games when the players come back, but at least we'll be able to train with them. I spoke to a lot of them yesterday, and between now and when they come back, I will be talking to most of them on the phone and telling them to think hard about what we must do when they come back."
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