Rafa seeks perfection

Rafa seeks perfection

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez admits his side must be almost perfect if they are to win the Premier League title.

The Reds finished second last term after amassing a club record 86 points in the Premier League.

Liverpool are desperate to end their 20-year wait for the championship crown and Benitez believes his squad is strong enough to beat any of their rivals, but concedes there is still room for improvement.

"You have to do everything almost perfectly because in the Premier League you cannot lose many games," Benitez told the Liverpool Echo.

"You need a good atmosphere, and we have a good squad now.

Contenders

"The understanding is really good now between the players. The main thing for me is to be contenders.

"We have to be there in the top four and close, then see what happens.

"Chelsea, United and Arsenal are very strong, and this year you'll have Tottenham, Aston Villa and City. It's clearly the most difficult league.

"We are strong enough to beat anyone and we need to be consistent.

"We got 86 points - a record for the club in the Premier League - but we still need to improve. But we have a lot of confidence."

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_5435749,00.html

Same thing he says every year, really, maybe he could bring it out on CD and then they could just play it at interviews, save him the time of going.

Joking aside, he's right of course, we can't expect a title, but we can expect a decent push after our effort last season.

I do like the fact that he stresses on the need for a good atmosphere on the training ground, a good feeling between the players, which I do think is where we have the advantage over the other 'big' clubs.

That being said, without intention, it looks a bit like he's pointing the finger at Alonso and Masch. Come on lads, make a commitment one way or the other, then we can advance as a team or go our seperate ways.

Well said Rafa. I do think he thinks that the Xabi saga is very detrimental to the players' morale. That was the reason why he stressed for a need for a good atmosphere, in hope that Xabi and Masch would understand how important that would be.

The squad is going strong together since Rafa took charge. I still remember back then in 2005, the difficulties Rafa endured in his first season. He has brought the club so far today, we are nearly on the brink of success. Still remember we had Traore playing at leftback, and also players like Cisse, Mellor, Baros, who were at best - mediocre.

Now we can boast the likes of Fernando Torres, and of course many other players that make up the spine of the squad. Our title chances have been strengthened even before a ball has been kicked, because of the Mancs' loss of Ronaldo and Tevez - and the fact that they are gonna end their transfer summer now!

We need to have a perfect season, when the opportunity comes to get 3 points grab it with both hands, by hook or by crook. I do think come May 2009, we will see that elusive 19th back at the fields of Anfield Road.

Anfield awaits. It's going to be some season.