Rafa welcomes new signings

Last updated : 11 July 2008 By Al Campbell
Benitez unveiled Philipp Degen and Andrea Dossena to the press yesterday and told the media the duo would improve his side.

"I think everyone was thinking the same as us, that we needed to improve in the wide areas," said the Spaniard.

"We have the spine of the team with Torres, Gerrard, Mascherano and all these players that we know. In the wide areas maybe we needed something different so we were looking for full-backs with an offensive mentality.

"Dossena likes to play football, and Degen is the same, he goes forward with quality. So we now have two players who can go forward and they will compete for their positions and hopefully it will be good for the team.

"Sometimes it is not about how much money you spend but getting the players you need.

"We needed full-backs with different qualities and these two players could be good for us. Afterwards maybe you can sign big names and maybe people will be happy, but the priority is to sign the players that you want and need - in this case two full-backs who can give something more to the team."