JUST three matches into his reign as Liverpool manager, Rafael Benítez is already being fêted as a Messiah by some of the club’s more optimistic supporters. However, the Spaniard has given warning that his job is anything but the quick fix that it may appear at first glance.
While he can fully expect his cult status to be enhanced tonight by his team’s progression to the group stages of the Champions League and an accompanying £20 million windfall, the former Valencia coach believes that it will be months before his changes begin to take their full effect.
“We need to improve our level and perhaps we need to change the mentality,” Benítez said as he prepared for the second leg of the Champions League qualifying tie against AK Graz with his team 2-0 up from the first leg in Austria a fortnight ago. “I like my team to be in control the whole time and that is not the case now. Sometimes we are in trouble defensively.
“It wasn’t like this when I took over at Valencia. They already had a very powerful mentality in defence. Here, there is not a big defensive mentality.” Benítez believes that there are some signs that his ideas are being taken on board, pointing to two wins and a draw from his first three games.
Josemi, the Spanish defender, has a slight back injury and is unlikely to be risked tonight. Benítez may try out some of his younger players, such as Stephen Warnock, a midfield player who has made three appearances as a substitute this season, and Florent Sinama-Pongolle, the French forward. The match may represent a final chance for players such as Dietmar Hamann and Steve Finnan to prove their worth, with Xabi Alonso and Luis García, the new signings, eligible to play away to Bolton Wanderers on Sunday.
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LIVERPOOL (possible; 4-4-2): J Dudek — S Finnan, J Carragher, S Hyypia, J A Riise — H Kewell, S Gerrard, D Hamann, S Warnock — D Cissé, F Sinama-Pongolle.
AK GRAZ (possible; 4-4-2): A Schranz — J Standfest, A Ehmann, M Tokic, M Dollinger — D Ramusch, S Muratovic, R Aufhauser, M Amerhauser — R Kollmann, A Skoro.
Referee: L Medina Cantalejo (Spain).