Rafa aims to bounce back
12 Sep 2006 - 08:49:34
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has blamed the busy international schedule for his side's poor display in the Merseyside derby at the weekend but is looking to bounce back in the Champions League clash against PSV Eindhoven.
Benitez was criticised for his selection in the 3-0 defeat at Everton, particularly the omission of Craig Bellamy from his 16-man squad for the match.
However, the former Valencia chief has defended hi selection policy and spoken of his disappointment at the busy international schedule.
"The decision over Bellamy was clear to me. Having four good strikers, and if I leave anyone of them out then people will ask why," said Benitez.
"But with just 16 players, including substitutes, one of those strikers must be left out. This time it was Craig.
"It is more difficult to find the right team and balance with players returning from injury and from internationals. The question over Carragher being just back from injury was that he had trained three days with the squad.
"I was keeping an eye on him throughout those sessions - he was fine. I had more worries about John Arne Riise, who is now injured again. The problem was not that we used Carra, but that we used so many players coming back from international games as well. Altogether, that was a gamble.
"We had Sami Hyypia, Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Peter Crouch, Luis Garcia, and others, all back from a very busy international period. Could we afford to leave all those players on the bench? I don't think so, not for a game like that.
"They all had very hard periods away with their countries, playing two games. They are all big names and we decided to mix things up with players who had not been away and those that had.
"With smaller clubs, it is easier. They may only have two or three internationals but we have 10, sometimes 14. It is not easy to select a side.
"We have more possibilities now with Daniel Agger and Gabriel Paletta - we must look at the options."