what rafa said, in case nobody else has posted this
Journalist: It's been a rollercoaster of a few days hasn't it Rafa - great to beat Chelsea but a real downer to get beat by Everton...
Yes but I think you have to be positive in terms of the spirit and character of the players. We played a lot of the game against Everton with one less player and were working so hard too, so I think that the players deserve credit because they were doing a fantastic job. Against Chelsea it was very good, but against Everton we had some really bad luck at the end and the other things I don't want to talk about but we are out of the cup - we cannot change that and you will think that the only positive is that we will have less games.
Journalist: How do you put a positive spin on things with the players after a result like the Everton defeat? It can have a deflating effect, can't it?
I will say to you after the game tomorrow. The mentality of the players is really good - they know that it was a difficult game for different reasons, but we cannot change that so now we must think about winning against Portsmouth and stay near the top of the table.
Journalist: It was a blow to lose to Everton, but to lose Steven Gerrard, your captain, is even more so - what's the situation with him?
You know the news, it is more or less three weeks he will be out for. We will try to work hard with him and give him time, so at this moment you have to think about different options up front or in the middle, but we have enough quality.
Journalist: I suppose the positive is there isn't that much football is there? But other players have to step up as well...
Yes it's true that the international break will be positive now for him but the other players also have to show the quality they have. We now have a problem and need to find solutions - I am really pleased with Ryan Babel - he is improving, Kuyt is always a guarantee and Ngog is growing and if Torres is ready then it will be another option. We will also think about Benayoun and some young players, we have enough quality in the squad.
Journalist: You said, 'If Torres is ready.' What is the situation with him at the moment? He has obviously been out for a while but he is also looking a bit tired, how is he?
Yes I told you before, even if he would have scored three goals against Chelsea he still would not have been ready. He does not have match fitness, he is not sharp enough - you could see that. We were talking about this before, but sometimes you take a risk and now we have to see how he is because each day is different. We need to see if he is ready for each game - it is a big decision.
Journalist: Would you prefer it, perhaps, if he didn't play or wasn't selected for Spain against England next week?
He has been selected, so I better not say too much.
Journalist: What do you make of Portsmouth? A lot of people have been surprised that they have been struggling as much as they have this season after winning the cup and there's been quite a change around in terms of personnel there...
It's always difficult to keep the team doing things normally when you lose the manager one day - it was a surprise for them, they needed to change a lot of things and it's not easy. I think they are working hard, the manager has a good mentality and I think he is clever.
Journalist: Are you all still feeling positive, even after the extreme lows of the weekend - the picture still looks pretty good in the league, doesn't it?
I think the team is in a fantastic position, so if we can win against Portsmouth we will be top of the table for a short time again. We have been in a good position for a long time - it is a long race and we have to keep going.
Journalist: Could you tidy up these quotes that have come out and are apparently attributed to Xabi Alonso saying you are perhaps in a tug of war about your contract?
I need to confirm whether it is right or not because today the Spanish press have been talking about Torres heating up the atmosphere for the game against Real Madrid, but that is not true. You never know - with the radio it can be okay, but newspapers are different. Xabi has good English, but you never know if they are going to twist something. At this moment we are just thinking about the next game and we want to keep going.
Journalist: Apparently he said that he hoped you are here for a long time - it must be good to know that the senior players are behind you?
Yes, the squad is very compact. We have a unit and everybody knows it is an important season for everyone here, so we try to concentrate on football.
Journalist: How difficult is it to concentrate just on football on a day-to-day basis. It's such a vital time of the season for you and so many other things are happening...
We try to look at one game at a time and I have to give credit to my staff - they are working very hard in the preparation for games and they help in many ways to make sure everything is ready.
Journalist: You mentioned that a bit of tiredness was creeping in, how much of a factor is that for you at this stage of the season when you have played so much football?
It's always difficult. The problem is that when you play two games in a week, and you only have a few days - four days could be enough, but three days can be harder. It's okay, but if you have to do it three or four weeks in a row it will get even more difficult especially for players who have been injured because they don't have match fitness.
Journalist: Did you see that manifest itself against Everton the other night?
Yes, I think everyone could see that Torres was very tired but we were keeping him on the pitch a little bit more because we had Alonso who had a problem with his ankle and we were playing with 10 players.
Journalist: Is Torres a serious doubt to play against Portsmouth?
If you ask him then he will say 'no'. I always say we need to check on him and decide because all the players want to play every single game, so it will be more a decision for the staff than him.
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