Benitez upbeat ahead of Chelsea clash

An upbeat Rafael Benitez on Friday laughed off suggestions he was “cracking up” under the pressure generated by Liverpool’s faltering form.

A run of seven draws in their last 11 league matches has seen Benitez’s men hand the initiative in the title battle to champions Manchester United and made Sunday’s Anfield meeting with Chelsea a critical encounter.

The Reds’ loss of momentum has increased the critical focus on Benitez’s team selection and tactics at a time when his outburst against United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and a string of cryptic comments in press conferences have contributed to a sense that the pressure was beginning to tell on the Spaniard.

That is an impression he was at pains to dispel on Friday as he went through his reasons for substituting both Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard in the midweek draw at Wigan (tiredness and fear of injury), while insisting there was much for Liverpool fans to be cheerful about.

“We are eight points better off than we were at this stage last season,” Benitez pointed out. “We are very positive and if we can beat Chelsea everybody will be talking in a different way about us.

“We are in our best position for the last 10-15 years. So we have to enjoy it and try to keep doing our best.

“There is no extra pressure on me. I can guarantee that I have not read a newspaper, listened to radio or watched TV since the Wigan game.

“I spent Thursday enjoying some time off with my family because I knew there would be a lot of people trying to talk about things they do not know about.”

Benitez did not deny that the Chelsea match had become a must-win clash.

“We showed character and quality to beat them earlier in the season, and we showed the same things in beating Manchester United here.

“Now if we can continue to show those qualities and beat Chelsea again, maybe we will be in the headlines for something positive.

“It has always been important to beat sides who are at the top, but maybe this year even more because we are very close to them.”

Benitez also insisted he did not regret any of the decisions he has made this month, which have included the controversial dropping of Robbie Keane for an FA Cup match against Everton as well as going public with his feelings about Ferguson.

“It has a bad month but the only thing that I would have done differently would have been to drink more water to maybe avoid the kidney stones trouble I have had,” Benitez insisted.

“But on the pitch, no. There have been very fine details that have cost us points. At Stoke in the final minutes Steven Gerrard hit a post. Against Everton we conceded a very late free-kick that should have bee avoided when they equalised.

“And at Wigan we gave away a late penalty. You cannot control everything, but we should have six more points.”

Benitez added: “This has always been a must-win-game. As they all are. After my comments about Mr Ferguson we knew we still had to win at Stoke, those words didn’t change anything on the pitch. It doesn’t matter what is being said off the pitch.”