Hicks confident Benitez will stay

Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks said he expected Rafa Benitez to be the club’s coach in five years’ time despite media reports saying the Spaniard had rejected a new contract. “The owners feel that the manager’s decisions need to be subject to the chief executive,” he was quoted. “But I know I am subject to the results and to our fans and they are the best judges I will ever have.”

“I believe that this club has the potential to improve and I just want to be able to make this happen,” he added. “I am just not worried about it at all. The fans should relax, Rafa is going to be coaching Liverpool for the next five years and we will work through all these little lawyer issues.”