Source: Liverpool_Echo
Liverpool FC manager Rafael Benitez wants team to come out fighting
Liverpool FC manager Rafael Benitez wants team to come out fighting at Stoke City after FA Cup exit[LNB]RAFA BENITEZ came out fighting today as he urged his players to take advantage of the 'fantastic opportunity' they have to atone for their FA Cup exit.[LNB]The Liverpool manager has come in for some fierce criticism since Wednesday night's poor performance against Championship strugglers Reading and has apologised to supporters for that crushing 2-1 defeat.[LNB]Benitez's frustrations have been compounded by the fact that he will be without Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun when Liverpool travel to Stoke City this lunchtime but he is refusing to dwell on past woes.[LNB]That is why he has challenged Liverpool's embattled squad to show fighting spirit, resilience and banish the gloom which has enveloped the club with a resounding performance at the Britannia Stadium.[LNB]'We feel so sorry for the fans,' said Benitez. 'We have spoken about this with the players. We gave our fans a bad performance on a bad day when there was bad weather.[LNB]'They were there supporting us as they always do, so we felt really, really sorry for the way we played. But now we must move forward, we have to keep trying to do our best every week.[LNB]'We now face Stoke, it will be a difficult game and we are not playing as well as we want; we also have some problems with injuries again with Stevie, Yossi and Fernando.[LNB]'But we knew when we trained on Thursday - and trained well - that we would be without these players, so now we just have to make sure we are properly focused. We have to stick together'
