Mark Platt 08 September 2005 Rafael Benitez insists he will never spend money for the sake of it and that he'll only buy players who are good enough to help Liverpool win trophies.
As the Reds prepare for their return to Premiership action this weekend Benitez has explained the reasons why he failed to bolster his squad on transfer deadline day and revealed he has plans to make amends in January.
The boss admits it was frustrating not to bring in at least one more new face but believes the strength in depth of the Liverpool squad is still a lot healthier than it was in May.
"We have three or four months to get through. In January we need to reinforce the squad. We were thinking about a right-winger and centre half, everyone knows that, but when people say we left it until the last minute, that's not true," he says.
"We worked all summer. We never wanted to pay more for a player than his value. We didn't want to sign players we didn't need.
"We tried, but because of circumstances, the clubs wouldn't sell. If a club is willing to sell without a fight, maybe the player isn't good enough. When the club tries hard to keep him, you know you're trying to sign someone of high clbutt.
"Simao is an example, as is Milito and Figo. We watched Simao for a long time, but we were looking at others first because we didn't know if he was available. We decided to try and Benfica said yes. We thought we had control of the situation. Then they changed their mind.
"We also tried to sign centre-backs, but their clubs said no. Clubs think because we've won the Champions League we've got a lot of money. They put a £7m values on players who are no more than prospects.
"If you look at our squad now compared to last May, we've signed very good players and improved. We couldn't find the right players for the right and at centre-half, but because we're European champions, only certain players are good enough to play for us.
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"If people want me to buy players to finish in the middle of the table, I can, but I want to win trophies. I will only buy players to do this.
"I have a lot of confidence we will have a better team this year. People may not agree with my decisions, but when I spend a lot of money I want it to be on one of the best players in the world."
-- LIVERPOOL FC - KINGS OF EUROPE MANCHE$TER BUCCANEERS & BLUEpooE - KINGS OF COMEDY
