BENITEZ: FINISHING FIRST IS ALL THAT MATTERS

Paul Rogers 14 January 2007 Rafael Benitez insists he was brought to Anfield to bring home the league title and, as he explains today, two cup defeats in the space of four days last week hasn't changed anything.

Having won the Champions League and the FA Cup during his first two years in England, Benitez's belief in his own ability was never going to be tested by events from the past seven days but rather than hide from his critics, the Reds boss has once again come out fighting to explain why he won't stray from his ultimate desire to end Liverpool's wait for the Premiership title. "We're talking about finishing first, to win things," claims Benitez, who saw his side make it seven wins from their last eight Premiership games after comfortably disposing of Watford 3-nil at Vicarage Road on Saturday. "When people talk about other clubs, if they finish in the top four is like winning the Champions League. For us, it's only about finishing first. We haven't won the league for 16 or 17 years. "We want to end that. If we're worried because we cannot progress in the semi-finals of the Carling Cup when we've got Chelsea, Manchester United and, in a few weeks, Barcelona to play in bigger competitions, we must be worried about the future of the club. "We want to win every trophy if possible, but we want to win the most important trophies in particular. The priorities are the Champions League and the Premier League. "We were hoping to progress in the cups, but that's gone. We need to focus on the Premier League and the Champions League. Maybe, after one or two months, a lot of people criticising now will see us winning against Barcelona and will be wondering whether we can win the Champions League again but they must be careful. "When we were 11th in the league, people were saying we were in crisis but I always hard confidence. Now we are in a very good position, thinking about the future. We know the right way to go and we will go that way. "I have a lot of confidence that we will finish the season really well and I think we will be closer to the top two. Last season's 82 points was something really positive for this club. When you're running against other clubs, they can sometimes be faster but I have confidence."