Rafa expects determined response

Last updated : 02 October 2006 By Al Campbell
The Reds' poor away form this season continued with a 2-0 reverse at Bolton at the weekend. However, Rafael Benitez expects his side to quickly bounce back.

"After the weekend we've had, I feel even more determination for working harder, improving the side and seeing the best from my team, and I want to see the same response from the players," said the Liverpool boss.

"They know if we don't get the decisions, the best response is to score more goals. If we have had 14 shots on goal, we must be determined to have 30.

"If there's a big mistake in the game, we don't want to depend on the decisions to create more chances of our own.

"I'm not a manager who likes to talk and talk, Ilike to work and work. We are starting from now with the six players we have, but I expect those who've left for international duty to think a lot about what happened on Saturday and be ready to show a reaction when they come back in ten days.

"I know a lot of people are talking about stupid things when they talk about the game.

"In the first half we played better than Bolton, and had a lot of shots on goal, but it's true we didn't create clear chances. The decision of the linesman was a turning point. It's the first time I have seen a linesman who wants to be a star.

"But in future we must make sure we don't lose games because of these mistakes.

"There is a big difference between the final score and what happened in the game. It's really frustrating because in different games there have been similar situations, and I hope by the end of the season these things will balance.

"In the last three away games, it's clear we've had more shots than our opponents and we've not taken our opportunities. I would be more worried if we'd played three games and not looked like scoring, but because we could have scored goals in all these games we must still feel positive.

"We need to improve our accuracy in front of goal, but I still believe in the players and know we will be better this season."