Rafa: forget league table

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has urged the fans and players to focus on the upcoming games with West Ham and Aston Villa rather than worry about their position in the league table, after Everton went ahead of them into fourth.

"We don't think about the gap between us and the clubs above us because the only way we can change things is by winning games" he said.

"If you start thinking of how far behind you are it can cause you problems because you can lose focus.

"The problem for us is expectations because people were talking about this year and saying we had to be contenders and we had spent big money but if you analyse the last 10 years the difference between us and the team at the top has always been about 20 points.

"To win the title you need to get around 89 points, or this year maybe 85, and the record of our club in the Premiership is 82.

"So to win the title you have to do everything almost perfect and because we know it is not easy we cannot be looking at the table every week because you will just end up losing your confidence and playing with more anxiety."