BENITEZ: GERRARD IS 100% COMMITTED
Rafael Benitez insists his skipper Steven Gerrard is "100% committed to Liverpool" just an hour before completing the £18.6million permanent signing of Javier Mascherano.
After another week of intrigue and turmoil at Anfield, with the battle for financial control of the club raging on, the Liverpool chief believes he has managed to settle the futures of his two key midfielders.
Gerrard's comments in midweek showing his anger and frustration at Liverpool's title fade-out were interpreted as an attack on Benitez while bringing the player's own long-term future into question.
And the war between co-owner Tom Hicks and Dubai International Capital for ownership of the club suggested that finances for new players was way down the list in terms of importance and availability of cash.
But Benitez will now go into Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash at Bolton insisting that the club and his players are in better shape than many believed.
And the irony is that Benitez now has the Mascherano deal tied up and a workable relationship with Hicks.
It was a row over the potential cash for signing Mascherano that caused the rift between owner and manager before Christmas.
But Mascherano has now signed a four-year deal, ending the complicated third-party ownership of the player, while Benitez has made it very clear that his relationship with Gerrard is fine.
Mascherano and Gerrard will now be side by side in Liverpool's midfield at the Reebok Stadium with Benitez believing it is a partnership that is good for the short and long-term future of the club.
On Gerrard, Benitez went to great lengths to explain away talk of a rift, saying: "My relationship with Steven is very good, I was talking with him today before training after reading his interview in our magazine. It was clear what he was saying and everybody feels the same way.
"We must progress in the Champions League, and Steven has told me how amazing it was to win it and how important that medal is to him.
"Now he wants to win the Champions League and to finish fourth in the league.
"Steven knows he has my total support and I know that his commitment to the club is 100%.
"He says he is concentrating on winning the Champions League, but first to beat Bolton."
He added: "We are professionals and everyone knows how important it is to finish in the top four. Many of the players have been at the club for many years so they know what the requirements are now.
"We have to be in Europe, we have to be in the Champions League. For me the best football memory of my life is winning in Istanbul, and the team feel the same. I am sure they will now want to be in Moscow for this season's final."
And on Mascherano, Benitez added: "The club is more stable than people believe. We have completed the deal and for a big fee.
"The money is there for that deal and we are going in the right direction by signing the players we need."
But it is obvious that Benitez wants to clear the air over Gerrard and align his own views on the season with his captain's.
He said: "Everybody shares the disappointment expressed by Steven Gerrard this week, we are upset by our position in the league.
"But we can get fourth spot and we can win the Champions League. I have talked to Steven this week after his comments were published and he has made it very clear that the Champions League win in Istanbul was the most important trophy of his life.
"He told me how excited he is by it and for him to play in that final and to be able to play in the competition is fantastic for him.
"In his interview he was trying to show how disappointed he was with our position in the league, nothing more. But he is really pleased to be playing in Europe.
"He was telling me it would be fantastic for us to win it again. And it was clear that his commitment to the club is still 100%. We need to share responsibility for what has happened in the league."
Benitez, who will have Jamie Carragher back from suspension at Bolton, added: "We can all take positives from what Steven has said, to appreciate his view. But the fans feel the same, so do I. What has happened is a pity but the only way to change things is to win our matches.
"Whatever is happening around the club, the only thing we can do as a squad is to concentrate on winning games.
"We cannot afford to drop points, every game is important and we must reduce the gap on teams above us. We keep talking about our game in hand, so now it is here we must win it. That will put us in a better position.
"The players have experience of winning several games in a row. We have the squad to do it so now we need to start doing it."
come to think of it, can't recall when's the last time we had back to back victories! hahaha :bsmilie: