"We must keep winning, win our game in hand, and show our rivals that we aim to be in the top four and as high as possible in the table," said Benitez.
"We will fight to be as close as possible to the top of the table. I am not thinking about fourth position as a target. We will try to finish higher. How high I don't know, but we will aim higher.
"Villa are closer to us now, as are Everton and Manchester City, so we know we cannot make any mistakes.
"Martin O'Neill is a manager with great experience and when you watch how excited he gets on the touchline, it is clear how important it is to him and how much support he gives to his players.
"It is difficult to play against any good team but when they have a good manager as well it makes it even tougher."
