Far East tour good for Reds says boss

Last updated : 28 July 2009 By Al Campbell
The boss was glad to see the Reds visit Thailand and Singapore as he believes playing in the incredibly humid conditions they did will make the team stronger and fitter for the new campaign.

"When you go to Asia sometimes you think it will be tough with all the travelling but it's been really good and the fans have been fantastic. The atmospheres have been great and everyone has wanted to help us," said Benitez.

"When you see the faces of the fans you know that it was good to come here. The fans were like in Anfield, amazing.

"We've been here for a week and you could see that the team was stronger and fitter.

"It was a good game, especially in the second half when we had more space and they were a bit tired. We could go forward and create more chances.

"We worked hard and played at a high tempo with a professional mentality.

"We won and scored a lot of goals so I think that will make the next game easier.

"You can see that some of our players are a little bit tired, but the mentality and attitude was good.

"If we can play these kind of games with this intensity, it will be really good to improve the condition of the players. We need to be a little bit sharper but I feel it's just a question of time."