Source: Daily_Mail
I left Liverpool in good shape, insists former manager Rafa Benitez
Thumbs up: Benitez has defended his Liverpool legacy[LNB]Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has defended his Anfield legacy.[LNB]Benitez left the club in the summer after his side finished a disappointing seventh in the Barclays Premier League and missed out on a place in the Champions League.[LNB]But the Reds' struggles have continued under new boss Roy Hodgson, with the team failing to impress in the opening seven weeks of the new campaign.[LNB]Benitez, who guided Liverpool to Champions League glory in 2005, told Irish newspaper Sunday Independent: 'I was very clear that when I left we had a better squad than we had in the past, and a better team.[LNB]'We knew we had to bring in better players. We left a good team, a very good team. A lot of people are talking about the legacy but the legacy is fantastic.[LNB]'When I left the club, (Javier) Mascherano, (Yossi) Benayoun and (Albert) Riera were there, along with Carra [Jamie Carragher], (Steven) Gerrard, (Jay) Spearing, (Stephen) Darby, (Emiliano) Insua, (Diego) Cavalieri and (Jonjo) Shelvey.[LNB]'They cannot talk about legacy when (Christian) Purslow [managing director] and Hodgson signed seven players. They have already changed the squad.'[LNB] Jamie Carragher[LNB]Benitez concedes that he made mistakes during his reign but has suggested he was worn down by off-field problems.[LNB]The Spaniard added: 'It was a long time, it wasn't just one thing. The feeling was that something was wrong, we couldn't do what we wanted to do.[LNB]'We were preparing the signings and the sales but we could see that we have some targets and we didn't do it.'[LNB] Furious Hodgson: Don't insult me, I can handle the Liverpool jobKenny Dalglish: Capello needs to have a captain who is fit to play England boss Capello fails to tempt striker Heskey out of retirement[LNB]
