Liverpool Football Club News

• Nickname:Reds
• Founded:1892
• Manager:Kenny Dalglish

• Ground:Anfield
• Capacity:45,362

Rafa challenges youngsters

17 Nov 2007 - 10:35:20

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Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has challenged the younger members of his squad to prove they deserve a more prominent role in his plans.

The Spaniard has scoured the globe for some of the most promising players in world football in recent months and has brought the likes of South Americans Lucas Leiva and Sebastian Leto plus Netherlands Under-21s starlet Ryan Babel to Anfield.

However, Benitez has challenged all three of his starlets to improve their performances in a bid to win more first-team action.

"Our squad is really good and hopefully the strength of the squad will become more clear as the season goes on," he told the club's official website.

"Some young players, especially the likes of Sebastian Leto, Lucas Leiva and Ryan Babel, will grow and progress during the season and I am sure they will play better.

"I am not disappointed with them, but I think they do have the potential to play better."

Meanwhile, Benitez insists he is happy with the Reds' start to the new season despite them trailing Premier League leaders Arsenal by six points.

He added: "I feel that we are in a much better position than we were at this time last season.

"We have more points, but if you think about the games and analyse the matches against Birmingham City, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, they were three games that we could have won, so maybe we could be top of the table.

"You cannot be 100 per cent happy because I know that we could have won these games, so there is plenty of room for improvement."