RAFA ON BIRMINGHAM, INJURIES AND JP

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Rafa Benitez takes five minutes to chat to the club's official website ahead of this afternoon's Anfield meeting with Birmingham City.  



Rafa, after a couple of draws are you slightly concerned with the results and the level of performances?
  
Not really, and I am not worried because we had two difficult away games. Before then we scored 10 goals in two games. We must analyse the situation - playing away games after an international break is always very difficult. We had some chances against Portsmouth and we could have won the game. I know we also could have lost the game. Against Porto the result wasn't a surprise to me but what was a surprise was why we started really badly. We got the equaliser and then in the second half with 10 players it was easier to defend because we had more focus. You could see the determination of the players in the second half. They have trained really well this week and want to get back to winning ways.
  
It's Birmingham City next at Anfield and they gave Chelsea a run for their money on the opening day of the season - how tough a prospect is this game?
  
They have experience in the Premier League and they have a very good manager in Steve Bruce. He will know his team will have to be careful after seeing us score six goals in our last match at Anfield. They will come to Anfield to defend and get players behind the ball, and then try and hit us on the counter attack. They will be dangerous and they have got some good results against us in the league over recent years.
  
A challenge for you this week has been even more injuries so early on in the season. Can you tell us how long Xabi Alonso and Daniel Agger will be out for?
  
Both players will be out for four to six weeks but we have a good medical team so it could be earlier. It's too early to say at this moment - we need to wait and see.
  
Daniel Agger is a huge injury blow for you. Who will you look to as his replacement?
  
Sami Hyypia will play alongside Carra and we have also got Jack Hobbs training with the first-team squad. We also have to think about Riise as a back-up option for centre half and Arbeloa. If Carra and Sami can play in every game then that will be perfect.
  
Sami took some stick against Porto because of his lack of pace with the the penalty you conceded. Does this worry you?
  
Not really, because when I first came to the club Sami was never the fastest player but he has a lot of experience and his reading of the game is very good. He is very clever and he will do a good job for the team. I think there are a lot of defenders in the game slower than Sami Hyypia.
  
It's already tight at the top, with Manchester United, Chelsea and yourselves already dropping points. Are you surprised no team is running away with it?
  
No, because I thought it would be more difficult for the top sides this year and already that is clear. Maybe after two or three months it will be different but at the moment the teams are strong and they are all difficult games.
  
Jermaine Pennant will come up against his former club on Saturday, if selected. Do you think his sending off in midweek could be down to the fact that he's possibly trying too hard to impress you?
  
Trying to find the positives, I think that he was working really hard for the team before he was sent-off. I think he can also see now what he did was a big risk and he can learn from that. I have talked with him about it and with the rest of the team. It's an experience we need to learn from as a team. You must learn from your mistakes and it's clear he will learn from this experience.
  
You still have a lot of confidence in him, don't you?
  
Yes, because he is a good player and he is training well. We cannot criticise him for anything he has done on the pitch because he is playing well for us. The only thing is for him to learn from his mistake and focus on the positives.
  
Is Steve Bruce a manager you have a lot of respect for?
  
Yes, he is. He has done a good job to get Birmingham back into the Premier League as I know how difficult it is to be relegated and then get the team back into the top division in the following season. Before our FA Cup game when we won 7-0, we'd always found it difficult to beat them. Hopefully we can change that and win in the league against Birmingham on Saturday.