RAFA ON EVERTON, GERRARD AND TORRES

Rafa Benitez took five minutes out of his pre-match preparations to talk to radio journalists ahead of Sunday's FA Cup fourth round clash with Everton at Anfield. Here's what he had to say in full.




Journalist: What did you learn from the game on Monday night?

I learned that we cannot make silly mistakes, especially with three minutes to go in a game.

Journalist: It must be frustrating for you, because you know your team has the ability to hang on to a one-goal lead - especially at Anfield...

Yes, we were talking about how dangerous Everton can be from set pieces. We were playing well and winning, but we have to be a little bit stronger and control the game, so we made this mistake, but we have learned that we have to score two goals if we want to control the last minutes.

Journalist: You've always said that you enjoy the derby and you've had success in it, but in hindsight and looking back to Monday did you really enjoy that occasion as well?

Not really because you have to concentrate on the game, and it was a very tough game. We were working very hard, trying to do things the right way and it was difficult because they were also working very hard. But after we scored I could see that we were controlling the game. But we lost this control in the last minutes. Credit to Everton, they were attacking and very dangerous.

Journalist: Is it fair to say your team didn't play to the 90th minute and is that something you addressed immediately afterwards?

I think that for the first 20 minutes we did not play well - and didn't play well for the last 15 minutes. But that is football, it is 11 against 11 players. One team is usually doing better than the other, so you have to do your best. We were not controlling the game in the last minutes.

Journalist: Do you have one eye on the games against Wigan and Chelsea? Will you be freshening up your team in any way for those games?

We have enough quality in the team, and I can change players if necessary - it is not a problem. I have said this maybe 20 times before: we have players who are coming back from injuries, so I think we have enough quality.

Journalist: You've spoken about Steven Gerrard following his court appearance, and he trained as normal - are you expecting a normal performance from your captain on Sunday?

I have already said before, he was scoring goals in training as normal today, so that is very positive from the training session.

Journalist: Another positive for you, of course, is the return of Fernando Torres to the starting line-up - he missed his chance against Everton on Monday but he got in the right place at the right time, do you believe the goals will come for him now he has minutes under his belt?

Yes, everybody knows that Torres needs to be fully fit and he is very close. Hopefully he will start scoring goals again soon, it will be good for us and for the rest of the season.

Journalist: If he does stay fit and manages to avoid any further injuries, could he make the difference for you this season?

Yes, he is back training as normal at the moment so he is not thinking about any problems. He is a very good player with a fantastic mentality.

Journalist: It is the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster this year, and of course this FA Cup game takes great significance with that in mind. Jamie Carragher has already spoken about how important it is that you lay your marker down even more so this year, would you agree with that?

Yes, clearly we know how important this is, so we would like to win this game because that is the way to progress in the competition and to maybe, I'm not sure how to say in English, to dedicate the trophy to the people.

Journalist: In other words, is that to show the fans how much this occasion and this competition could mean to them in what is a very special landmark?

Yes, clearly it is very special, but I don't like to talk too much. The first thing is to be focused on this game, only afterwards can we dedicate anything to the families.

Journalist: Did anything surprise you about Everton's approach on Monday - they came out all guns blazing, didn't they?

From watching the video of that game, I would say that we made too many mistakes in the first few minutes, which gave them hope from the beginning. I think we have to change this on Sunday and hopefully we can do well and they will not be as good as they were in the first few minutes.

Journalist: Many of the teams that have come to Anfield and taken a point from Liverpool this season have 'parked the bus', as Jose Mourinho would say, but Everton didn't do that, did they?

I think they were trying to win from the beginning, but they were really pleased with a point because it was at Anfield. Again I will say, hopefully we play well, and we can score more than one goal.

Journalist: Obviously you would like to win every competition that you are involved in, but does there come a time that you have to prioritise which competition you want to win most?

At the moment our priority is the FA Cup, on Monday it will be the league and then two or three weeks later it will maybe be the Champions League. We are taking it one game at a time.

Journalist: You are still up there in the league and in two cup competitions, does your side now need a confidence boost? You did well against Bolton Wanderers and then Newcastle United but now we've seen this slight dip in form...

Yes, I think that people start talking when you draw some games. It's always important to win games and show your quality. I think it's a vicious circle - if you win then you will have more confidence.

Journalist: The expressions the players' faces as they walked out of Anfield on Monday said quite a lot about what they thought of a 1-1 draw...

Yes, clearly. All the fans and staff - everyone was disappointed because the goal was scored at the end. We need to play properly on Sunday and hopefully get through to the next round.

Is a draw on Sunday the worst possible result for you?

No, the worst result would be to lose. A win is better than a draw, and a defeat is worse than a draw.