Rafa delighted with his team

Last updated : 07 February 2009 By Adam Bryant
"Every victory is important but especially now when you are so close to the top of the table, in this case at the top of the table," said the Liverpool manager. "I'm really pleased because we showed character and I think we played really well. We made some mistakes and needed to come back but it's very positive.

"We were playing well and the team was doing what we needed to do, so it shows we have enough quality in the squad. I think that we deserved to win because we were playing very well.

"It's important to see players like N'Gog, Ryan Babbel or Benayoun playing well, and after to use players like Kuyt and Torres to finish the game, that is all part of the squad. Torres is a fantastic player but without the others we wouldn't be there.

"It will be a long race and we need to keep going. We won't win the title now, and they won't win the title now so we have to keep working hard. United have a very good team so we need to keep working hard and keep the confidence high. If West Ham can win tomorrow it would be good for them and good for us."

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