SOCCER/English FA Cup: Rafael Benitez will not be pressured into quitting Liverpool and believes a good Champions League campaign will save his job, despite the Liverpool co-chairman's admission yesterday that he spoke to Juergen Klinsmann about replacing the Spaniard at Anfield.
Tom Hicks undermined his manager further when he confirmed he and fellow owner George Gillett had met the German at Hicks' California retreat last November. That was the time of Benitez's public row with the Americans over transfer policy, although Hicks claimed Klinsmann - who was last week announced as Ottmar Hitzfeld's successor at Bayern Munich - was only ever "an insurance policy" and the Spaniard now enjoys his employers' full support.
Hicks' revelation sheds new light on Benitez's furious reaction to being ordered to "concentrate on training and coaching his team" at the same time as Klinsmann was holding talks with the Americans.
But the Liverpool manager will not walk away from his post and remains confident he can yet appease the Americans with another convincing Champions League campaign. Manuel Garcia Quilon, Benitez's agent, said last night: "Rafa wants to stay at Liverpool. He is happy with the club, with the supporters and with the city. He does not want to leave."
That still appears a difficult task, however, with Hicks confirming they considered a change of manager this season. "In November, when it appeared we were in danger of not advancing in the Champions League, weren't playing well in our Premier League matches and Rafa and we were having communication issues over the January transfer window, George and I met with Jurgen Klinsmann to learn as much as we could about English and European football," said Hicks.
"We attempted to negotiate an option, as an insurance policy, to have him become our manager in the event Rafa decided to leave our club for Real Madrid or other clubs that were rumoured in the UK press, or in case our communication spiralled out of control for some reason."
The Liverpool co-chairman claimed relations have improved with Benitez since a clear-the-air meeting at Anfield in December.
Meanwhile, defender Daniel Agger has suffered a recurrence of the metatarsal injury which has kept him sidelined since September. Specialists have yet to confirm how long the Dane will now be out of action, but manager Benitez doesn't expect Agger to feature this month.
Jamie Carragher will captain Liverpool on his 500th appearance for the club in tonight's FA Cup third round replay against Luton.
Troubled Luton manager Kevin Blackwell has admitted some of his players could refuse to face Liverpool for fear of scuppering moves away from the financially-stricken club. Blackwell handed in his notice at the club on Friday after the club's administrators agreed to sell Chris Coyne to Colchester and Dave Edwards to Wolves without his knowledge. He and coaches Sam Ellis and John Carver will leave on February 9th.
Blackwell said: "The way it has gone, I don't even know who I will have available to play. There are at least one or two players talking to other clubs and they've got to . . . put their bodies on the line knowing an injury could cost them a move to a club where they are guaranteed to get paid. I could be sat in the dressingroom at Anfield an hour before kick-off and a player might decide they don't want to run that risk and pull out. Wolves said we could play Dave Edwards in the game but the administrator wouldn't allow it in case the deal fell through, so now that seed has been sown then it must be praying on other players' minds."
To compound Blackwell's selection problems goalkeeper Dean Brill is a doubt with a thigh strain and has no deputy at the club, while newly-appointed captain Chris Perry is also a doubt with the same injury.
Liverpool v Luton Town
Venue: Anfield
Kick-off: 8pm
On TV: Sky Sports 2
