RAFA SALUTES MENTALITY OF THE DANE

Jimmy Rice 29 March 2007 Rafa Benitez has saluted the way Danish centre-back Daniel Agger has settled into English football.

The 22-year-old had to bide his time following his move from Brondby just over a year ago but is now a Liverpool regular thanks to a series of assured displays. "I think that the Scandinavian mentality is similar, the weather and daily life is similar," Benitez told the League Managers' Association. "I know from experience that Spanish people have more problems, the Latinos because of the sun and the weather. We Spanish, for example, go to bed at midnight whereas here you maybe go to bed at 10pm. "So I think because day to day life is similar, that is a reason, but also because Daniel Agger is very professional, he's very, very focused in his career, very well prepared for every game. "These things help because if you have a player who is 21 years old thinking about girls and cars and things like that, then maybe it would be more difficult for him to settle down, but he's very, very focused on football." Benitez also spoke of his respect for rival Arsene Wenger, who'll bring his Arsenal side to Anfield for the third time this season on Saturday. "I think he's a very good manager. You could see his team before his arrival, you can see his team now. The Arsenal team play good football and he's won a lot of trophies."