Rafa Benitez insists the FA Cup is more important than ever to Liverpool this season - and claims he won't make wholesale changes to his side when they travel to Reading on Saturday.The third round tie is sandwiched between crucial fixtures with Aston Villa and Tottenham, but Benitez knows the Cup is perhaps our best chance of silverware in 2009-10.
He told Liverpoolfc.tv: "It's always been important but you know that when you're out of the Champions League, the people think about silverware and the FA Cup is very, very important for us.
"We want to progress, we want to go as far as we can.
"We'll have to analyse and consider what to do and we still have another training session. We'll see how the players are but maybe we won't change too many.
"We know we're playing against Tottenham eight days later, so we'll have time. We can put a strong team out.
"Always in the FA Cup it's really important to do things right. Everyone wants to win and it's a massive competition, so we have to be ready."
Meanwhile, Benitez is not ruling out some transfer activity over the coming month.
Liverpool could do business when the transfer window opens on January 1, though the gaffer insists it is not easy to buy top-class players midway through the season.
He said: "We are working hard and trying to do our jobs, and we'll see if we can do something.
"We are looking in the market but it's not easy to find good players available because the majority of them are playing in top sides.
"But we are trying to find solutions if we can.
"We have some good players who people are interested in because they're not playing too many games, but we have to manage carefully."
Liverpool signed off an up and down 2009 with a fantastic win at Villa Park.
Asked if he would start 2010 by making some New Year's resolutions, Benitez said: "The main thing for me is to wish health to everyone. After this, it's for us to win trophies, to improve and to do well. Hopefully we can win some silverware in the next year."
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/boss-on-transfers-and-fa-cup