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Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez believes his side are better than their recent performances have shown.
The Reds have endured a difficult period of late, slipping 12 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea and crashing out of the Champions League.
Fears have been expressed over the future of the club if they fail to finish in the top four, but Benitez
is trying to remain positive and is confident of seeing an improvement in his team.
"Always I have to think of the positives. We cannot change the Champions League, but we can improve everywhere else," said Benitez
"But if I am negative that can spread to the players and the fans. It is my responsibility to avoid that, part of the job is to keep everyone positive.
Positive thinking
"We are not happy with what has happened in Europe, but we have to find positive ways to approach things.
"We have a tough spell now before the Europa League starts again in February. There are a lot of games before then, and it is a crucial period in the English league.
"Crucially we now have [Fernando] Torres and [Steven] Gerrard fit. When they played together last season, we finished second. [Alberto] Aquilani is ready too."
Benitez believes the return of Torres, Gerrard and Aquilani will see an upturn in the side's form over the busy festive period.
"We are better than we look, now we have three quality players all available and all fit. Now let's see whether we can improve our position and get into the top four," noted Benitez.
"We will be there. Arsenal will do that too. We can improve, we can be in the top four and we can win a trophy. It is only what you would expect from a top side.
"We have had a bad spell but we are still very close to the top four. And our top players are available.
"We must start again, maybe it will be too late (in the league), you never know."
Injury boost
Benitez has a virtually injury-free squad to select from, and said: "Sometimes teams have bad moments, that is the same with every club. To change that you have to work hard and do things better.
"I have to think of the positives. Torres returning, Aquilani starting a match, Gerrard getting fitter every game. We will now be in a better position if we do not have any injuries over the coming weeks.
"Aquilani starting against Arsenal is an option, but we must assess him in training over the next two days.
"Torres and Gerrard playing together is also a real advantage now. They have not done that too much of late, but if both are fit then we can use them together, push them now, but we still must be careful with them. We saw against Fiorentina that Aquilani has quality."
The Reds have endured a difficult period of late, slipping 12 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea and crashing out of the Champions League.
Fears have been expressed over the future of the club if they fail to finish in the top four, but Benitez
is trying to remain positive and is confident of seeing an improvement in his team."Always I have to think of the positives. We cannot change the Champions League, but we can improve everywhere else," said Benitez
"But if I am negative that can spread to the players and the fans. It is my responsibility to avoid that, part of the job is to keep everyone positive.
Positive thinking
"We are not happy with what has happened in Europe, but we have to find positive ways to approach things.
"We have a tough spell now before the Europa League starts again in February. There are a lot of games before then, and it is a crucial period in the English league.
"Crucially we now have [Fernando] Torres and [Steven] Gerrard fit. When they played together last season, we finished second. [Alberto] Aquilani is ready too."
Benitez believes the return of Torres, Gerrard and Aquilani will see an upturn in the side's form over the busy festive period.
"We are better than we look, now we have three quality players all available and all fit. Now let's see whether we can improve our position and get into the top four," noted Benitez.
"We will be there. Arsenal will do that too. We can improve, we can be in the top four and we can win a trophy. It is only what you would expect from a top side.
"We have had a bad spell but we are still very close to the top four. And our top players are available.
"We must start again, maybe it will be too late (in the league), you never know."
Injury boost
Benitez has a virtually injury-free squad to select from, and said: "Sometimes teams have bad moments, that is the same with every club. To change that you have to work hard and do things better.
"I have to think of the positives. Torres returning, Aquilani starting a match, Gerrard getting fitter every game. We will now be in a better position if we do not have any injuries over the coming weeks.
"Aquilani starting against Arsenal is an option, but we must assess him in training over the next two days.
"Torres and Gerrard playing together is also a real advantage now. They have not done that too much of late, but if both are fit then we can use them together, push them now, but we still must be careful with them. We saw against Fiorentina that Aquilani has quality."
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