Benitez happy with Liverpool performances
Oct 6 2005
By Richard Williamson Daily Post Sports Editor
RAFAEL BENITEZ insists he has been happy with the way Liverpool have been playing - despite their worst start to a Premier League season.
The Anfield manager remains confident his side will start climbing the table after a disappointing haul of just one win from the first six games.
The 4-1 defeat to Chelsea at Anfield on Sunday left Liverpool in 13th place in the Premiership with just seven points to their name.
The reverse represented Liverpool's worst home result since 1969, but Benitez believes his side have not been rewarded with the points they deserved from a tricky opening spell to the season, which included visits from Chelsea and Manchester United and trips to Middlesbrough and Tottenham.
The fixture list is smiling more kindly on Liverpool in the coming weeks and Benitez is expecting a substantial lift to their points tally.
He said: "After the Chelsea game I told the players to forget about it and not waste time being down about the result. It was one game and one defeat, nothing more.
"I'm not looking at the league table, firstly because we have played less games then anyone else and also because we can't do anything to change it until we play Blackburn.
"I am happy with the performances we have produced this season.
We've had some difficult games and I've said to the players that if they keep playing like that then they will win games. We just need to approach the matches with confidence and a belief that what we are doing is right."
However Benitez has been left frustrated in his attempts to deliver an immediate remedy for his side's early season ills by the World Cup qualifiers.
"It's not ideal that we've lost the players for over a week straight after the Chelsea game because I would have preferred to be with them, to support them and keep encouraging them," he admitted.
"It's important that we keep going and keep our confidence. We made mistakes in one game and now we have to learn from them and move on.
"Chelsea is behind us and Blackburn is next. It will be another tough game because they play with good organisation and are very compact, but if we play as we have been doing lately then we can win."
