Steven Gerrard will lead Liverpool into their Champions League crunch match in Istanbul tomorrow acutely aware boss Rafael Benitez would substitute him again without a second thought.
Benitez caused a storm by withdrawing Gerrard on Saturday's high-tension Mersey derby win at Everton, preferring the ball retention skills of 20 year-old Brazilian youngster Lucas.
Gerrard has since said he was "hurt and disappointed" by the decision, and Benitez has held talks with his skipper to explain his reasoning, something the manager considers was way short of a showdown.
But as Benitez led his squad to Turkey today, he said: "Would I do it again? Yes, if it helped the team. I have talked to Stevie and he obviously wanted to play out the match. But I repeat that my decisions are based on what the team needs.
"If I felt that I needed to substitute my captain again, of course I would do it. Everything I do is aimed at benefiting the team."
He added: "Making big decisions is an important part of my job, making that decision played a big part in our victory at Everton."
Publicly, Gerrard has accepted his manager's viewpoint, but privately it is believed he is still concerned by the situation.
With only one point from two games, and a tough away match with Besiktas tomorrow, Liverpool are in danger of ending up in the Uefa Cup less than five months after being European Cup runners-up.
Benitez flew from Liverpool without Spain striker Fernando Torres, who has failed to shake off a calf injury and is now being nursed through the week in preparation for Sunday's visit of Barclays Premier League leaders Arsenal to Anfield.
Full-back Alvaro Arbeloa was also ruled out with a thigh injury, while Daniel Agger has not fully recovered from a broken metatarsal. But midfield playmaker Xabi Alonso was on board, having recovered from a similar injury, and could well play against the Turks, who won at Trabzonspor to move to second in their league last weekend.
Benitez knows how vital a victory tomorrow is, saying: "We have to win, we need three points after losing to Marseille and only drawing in Porto. The players know how important this game is, I will be expecting good performances from senior players."
Benitez said: "Our confidence will be really good now going into big games with Besiktas and Arsenal. Previously, we were working hard without winning and people were talking and doubting the players. So it is really good to play against Besiktas now with a good win behind us.
"The one very positive thing about this team now is that we work right to the end, and if we can do this right to the end of the season, maybe we will be talking about winning trophies."
