Rafa Benitez takes five minutes out of his pre-match preparations to chat to Liverpoolfc.tv ahead of our FA Cup clash Luton Town.
Rafa, you've had a few days to reflect on the disappointing 1-1 draw at Wigan and the goalless draw at Manchester City. How do assess those displays?
I think we deserved to win both games. We had enough chances but we didn't take them. Some people said 'well it's the same old story' but it's true. We didn't convert our opportunities so we were left disappointed. Now we are trying to work harder and we are analysing why we are not killing the games and trying to improve. I could stand here talking about how disappointed I am, but I am focused on trying to improve and we are all 100% committed and we want to win. We will try to do this against Luton and then Middlesbrough and Aston Villa.
A lot of fans were frustrated with the draw with Wigan. Can you explain your thinking behind playing Fernando Torres as a lone striker?
When you play against a team like Wigan they look to play narrow and deep, so we felt one of the solutions would be to wingers really wide and create the space for Gerrard, and I think he had four chances so the plan wasn't bad. I think the key is to take your chances. We were controlling the game and had plenty of possession, but I will not talk about those statistics, the key is to score the second goal and kill the game and that was the difference.
Do you think the current squad is good enough to win the Premier League?
It's good enough to win against Luton, good enough to beat Middlesbrough and we are thinking about one game at a time. We know the other teams are really strong and everyone in the Premier League is spending big money. But I think we showed that we can compete against Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United and that we are good enough. But the difference can sometimes be accuracy. We can win any trophy and the Premier League will be more difficult now, but clearly we can do it and two seasons ago we were winning a lot of games in a row, and I think we will need a run like that.
We face Luton Town in the FA Cup on Sunday. How important is this competition to you and are you likely to give some of the squad players a game?
We always try to use a strong team. For me the difference between Alonso and Mascherano is not massive. They are both very good players who are different in style. And if you talk about Lucas Leiva and Momo Sissoko, they are experienced in the Premier League, so they are more than capable of playing in the FA Cup. But we have some problems with Gerrard, Arbeloa, Aurelio out injured. Sami Hyypia and Daniel Agger are very close but we will have to do a late check to see if they are ready. We will need to change players, that is clear, but I have not decided how many we will change yet.
Arsenal tend to play their reserve side in cup competitions and have used those matches as a chance to groom players for the first team. Is that something you want to be able to do at Liverpool?
I think that we are trying to do this with the reserve team, by bringing in young players with quality and after two or three years, they will hopefully be capable of playing in the Premier League and in the cups. But we have a good squad and we can change players. For example whether you prefer to play Voronin, Crouch or Kuyt, they are all different players, but all have quality. The key is young players. If you bring them in, you can improve the squad in time.
What would it mean to you, to win the FA Cup again?
It's really important to fight for every trophy when you are a top side. We try to do this every year and in 2006 we won it. Okay, in the first year we reached the Carling Cup final and the Champions League, so for us every trophy is important. When I was in Spain, I knew that the FA Cup was very famous, so I like to win this trophy and I think the players want to win it too.
What do you make of Luton? There is always the chance of a giantkilling in the FA Cup and the Hatters do have a very good home record.
Yes, they are not scoring a lot of goals, but they are winning and they are a physically strong team, so it will be a tough game, but we have enough quality in the squad and experience in the cup to cope.
Some of the sides in the lower echelons of the league will put out weakened sides in the cup competitions in order to keep players fresh for retaining their Premier League status. Do you think this has devalued the cup?
Everyone has their own problems. We are thinking about winning. It does not matter the name of the player, we will try to approach the game with what we feel is a strong team.
Two years ago we came back from 3-1 down to win 5-3 against Luton. I suppose you will be hoping for a less dramatic scoreline this time around?
If we score five and they get three back that will be okay. But if they score three and we need to get five, I don't think my heart will support it!!!
What memories do you have from that match?
I think everyone remembers the goal Alonso scored from inside his own half and the reaction of Gerrard. I have to admit I was pretty much thinking the same thing! I also remember a penalty to Gerrard and a yellow card being given to their player. He was the last man in the six yard box in front of the goal and they said it was yellow. I couldn't believe it. Anyway we won and it was a fantastic game.
Do you think you have learned from your first experience of the FA Cup when we were famously beaten by Burnley in 2005?
We knew it was important but when you are trying to win four trophies every year you must use your squad. If you cannot, then you cannot progress in all the competitions, so the priority is always Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup. But you need to use your squad and if you have three or four players who are not regulars, but you feel they are good enough, they must play in this competition or you cannot compete in the Premier League or the Champions League.
Following the two recent draws in the Premier League do you feel the players are lower in confidence?
After the game against Wigan everyone was really disappointed but in the past couple of days the training sessions have been really good and we have talked about why we drew and how we need to improve and I think they understand that perfectly.
Do you know which of the younger players in the squad you are likely to take to face Luton?
I need to check if Sami Hyypia and Daniel Agger will be available and after that I will decide. Normally we will take one or two. Jack Hobbs and maybe Nabil (El Zhar) could be there.
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