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LIVERPOOL FC: READ NOW: EXCLUSIVE Q&A WITH THE BOSS

Rafael Benitez talks to Liverpoolfc.tv about the postponed Carling Cup tie against Arsenal, the hectic Christmas period and his hopes for the new year. Read this exclusive Q & A with the Reds boss.

/noticias.info/ Liverpoolfc.tv: First of all Rafa how disappointed were you with the postponement of Tuesday's Carling Cup tie with Arsenal?

Rafael Benitez: For all the people that were involved it was disappointing, not just for the players and the staff but for the supporters and the police. To call the game off was unbelievable.

Did you think it should have been played?

Yes. It was clear you could see from one goal to the other goal and that was enough.

How frustrating was it for the players after they were prepared and really up for this game?

All of them were excited because they wanted to play as it was a game we were looking forward to against a good team. Arsenal had some young players who were maybe going to play for the first time at Anfield against Liverpool and I can't understand why we didn't play the game.

Have you ever played in worse conditions than that during your time in Spain?

Yes many times with Valencia and other teams I have played in worse conditions. The rules say you must see from one goal to the other goal. I could see that. From the touchline I could read the advertising boards on the opposite side and if you can read this you can play football.

You had a training session on the pitch didn't you after the game was called off?

Yes. The referee said he wouldn't have been able to see the colours of the two teams but we were training with three different colours. We could see grey, pink and yellow. Grey is more difficult to see yet we could see perfectly the players in grey.

You now play the re-arranged game just three days after your FA Cup third round tie, is that ideal?

No it's not the best situation. We cannot change this but if you analyse the fixtures then yes maybe this is the best date for the game but it isn't ideal.

You return to Premiership action against Watford on Saturday, what type of game are you expecting against the bottom team in the Premiership?

It will be difficult because we know the last games we have played at Anfield all of the teams have played deep and it has been difficult to find spaces. Maybe they will come here and think they need to win to try and get off the bottom of the table if they feel a draw is not enough, but I think they will play deep.

They will certainly be up for a battle and as you say probably come to defend. When a team does that how difficult can it be to break them down?

We know it will be difficult but my players have experience and know we just have to keep passing the ball and trying to go forward. We have 90 minutes and we will create chances and we will score goals.

What's the latest injury news ahead of the Watford game?

Zenden, Kewell and Sissoko are still injured but Stephen Warnock and Fabio Aurelio played for the reserves in midweek. I don't know if both will be available for this game but maybe they will for the Christmas games.

Going back to the superb performance last weekend at Charlton Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt seem to have a really good understanding together in attack. How impressed were you with their performances?

I was really pleased with them but also it was the same situation when we had Crouch and Kuyt scoring goals. I think it's important to have all the strikers working hard and then we can select one or the other one.

While everyone after the game seemed to focus on how bad Charlton's performance was do you think it took a little bit of the focus away from just how well Liverpool played in that game?

In the first 20 minutes of the game we showed that we are really good. We regained the ball quickly, we were pressing and creating chances. They made some mistakes but they made them because we were pressing them and always going forward at them.

Going into this hectic Christmas schedule of matches can we expect to see you use your rotation system?

Yes we must do it. I hope we don't pick up any injuries and have some luck and I will cross my fingers! I will need to change players because they can't play so many games in a row and stay fresh.

Besides the Anfield visit of Watford you have matches at Blackburn, Tottenham followed by a New Year's Day clash here with Bolton. There's certainly a variety of footballing styles you will come up against?

I think they are all tough games. Blackburn and Tottenham have good teams and Bolton are really physical so we know how difficult these games will be.

What do you think of the amount of matches we play here in England over Christmas?

I can't understand why we play so many games. We should respect the tradition of playing on December 26th but that should be enough.

How does Christmas for you as a manager compare here to what it was like in Spain?

It's different. We have to accept the situation of how many games we have to play and we will try to be focused and try to do our best.

Looking back on the year 2006, it's been a good one hasn't it winning two trophies?

Yes it's important always at a big club to win trophies. We have won two trophies in one year and not a lot of clubs can say that. People can say yes but you need to win the Premiership but to win trophies in one year is good.

For all Liverpool supporters there's a lot to look forward to in 2007 isn't there?

I want us to continue to play like we are at the moment as we are much better and have more confidence. We are scoring a lot of goals and keeping a lot of clean sheets and I think we can look forward to the new year with a lot of happiness.

Finally Rafa do you have a little message for the fans as Christmas approaches?

I would like to say Happy Christmas to all Liverpool supporters and if we can see something similar to the last two years and win more trophies then it will be great for all of us. notas_de_prensa_archivo