RAFA: NEW OWNERS WILL HELP US IMPROVE

Paul Eaton 07 February 2007 Rafael Benitez is excited for the future of Liverpool FC after meeting the club's new owners for the first time at Anfield yesterday.

Benitez spent an hour with George Gillett and Tom Hicks before training and is confident the Reds have the right men in place to take the club to the next level. "It was a very nice meeting I enjoyed before training yesterday," said Benitez. "We spoke a lot about the future of the club, and by the end I was very happy with what the people said. I was convinced they want the best for the club. "We spoke about bringing through young players for the future from The Academy, and how we can sign players for the present. "They have a clear idea what we can achieve. It was not a meeting where we discussed how much we will spend on transfer or where we were promised £100m. To be a successful club, it is not just about spending a lot of money on new players. "They are successful businessmen and they realise the real business of a football club is the business of the first team. We need a strong first team to make the stadium successful and for all other areas of the club to perform well. "They recognised they need to change a lot of things. There are some aspects of Liverpool which must also remain the same, but it's clear where we can improve. This is a club which has a great history, but also has a great potential."