Source: Telegraph
Rafa Benitez ready to seal new Liverpool deal after taking care of backroom men
The Spaniard is expected to put pen to paper before next week's Champions League tie with Real Madrid on a deal which will tie him to Anfield until 2013 after months of wrangling with the club's owners. [LNB]Personal terms were agreed months ago but it was thought Benitez's demands to have full control over his transfer budget and recruitment to the club's Academy had brought negotiations to a standstill. [LNB]But Benitez revealed on Sunday that securing long-term offers for his trusted lieutenants had been of more importance, issues that are thought to have been worked out with Tom Hicks and George Gillett in the last two weeks. [LNB]He said: "Here in England, having a year left on your contract is nothing at all. When people realise the manager only has a year and half left, he is dead. I've got 10 or 12 assistants whose contracts are up in June. How can a manager lead a project properly if the continuity of his staff is not secure for two or three years? [LNB]"I never asked for complete control [of transfer budgets]. I did ask for the power to be able to make my own decisions and run the team the way I see fit. That is not the same thing." [LNB]That is likely to mean a contract is signed which will see Benitez allowed to divide a budget set by the board, a liberty enjoyed by most Premier League managers but an issue close to Benitez's heart after a problem at Valencia. [LNB]This should end speculation linking Benitez with a return to Real Madrid. He said: "I hope to be here for a long time but Madrid would be the perfect ending for anyone's career. But my career is not at an end yet."[LNB]
