Rafa pleased with progress

Last updated : 04 December 2008 By Al Campbell
Despite Monday's disappointing draw at home to West Ham, the Reds lead the table by a point. Rafa Benitez says their position shows how his team have improved on last season.

"After watching the video it is clear we had more chances than them, everybody was disappointed - we could have won," said the boss.

"But we have one more point and are at the top of the table, so things are still really positive.

"We were talking at the start of the season about being contenders in December, and this time last season we were nine points behind Arsenal, but now we are one point clear of Chelsea, so we are in a fantastic position and really pleased to be here.

"It's really important to know we are in a good position - some games we are playing really well, some games not so well, there is still plenty of room for improvement because everybody knows Fabio Aurelio and Fernando Torres are both injured.

"We also have Skrtel and Degen to come back, so we have enough depth in the squad to improve for our next games."