Rafael Benitez Quotes

"Having the family around is always very important because they are supportive. If you have a good day, you can enjoy it together. And if you have a bad day, you always find something as a distraction with your children, because they are normally happy."

"Chelsea is a big club with fantastic players; every manager wants to coach a such a big team. But I would never take that job, in respect for my former team at Liverpool, no matter what."

"If the owner wants to support the team, that's okay. If the owner can be on the pitch and score a couple of goals, it would be better!"

"When you play against a top side, you know they will have more possession, and they will be in more control, and you have to find one or two counterattacks."

"It is very important that you can express yourself, especially at half-time in a changing room, which is the crucial time for a manager."

"Competition in football means someone will improve."

"There are good players in Europe and all the way around the world, but better than Torres - no. I would not want to swap Fernando with anyone else in the world, because he is my player, and I'm very pleased with him."

"If you are a referee, it's not easy because everyone wants to win, and so there will be cheating."

"I am consistent rather than courageous."

"I have always had sympathy for Atletico Madrid because, among other things, I have friends there, and my father always liked Atletico."

"I don't think where they live is important to footballers."

"Wenger is a great manager, a great person, someone who knows the league here in England."

"Whenever you lose, it's always bad, and especially against Barcelona."

"When someone gets angry during a training session but then does their job, there's no problem; it's fine."

"Everyone has to have the same targets, and the fans are very important for every team, for the motivation of the players. It's the same in every club."

"There are massive clubs with massive amounts of money, and Liverpool were always a little bit behind. But if you create a good team, a good atmosphere, and work hard, you can get there. You can win trophies."

"When you are winning and go to finals, you want to win the finals."

"I have to do what I have to do so that we can win games."

"You cannot bring in two or three top-class players if you don't have the money. You have to sell."

"I want to talk more about the future than the past."

"I will do my job: I will try to win every game until the last minute. That's it."

"Does the manager have absolute power in England? No, it depends on a budget and on the executive director that negotiates the signings of players."

"I understand 100 per cent why someone would want to buy Newcastle United. It's very clear: it has the potential to be one of the top sides."

"What features in a midfielder am I after? Players who have the mindset to win every game - then we can start to talk about the technical quality."

"I am not hugely concerned about the amount of goals we score - it is the final results that are the difference."

"In football, it is a question sometimes of the mentality, understanding the players, the atmosphere, the confidence."

"I've worked with so many teams, so many dressing rooms."

"I am a professional that likes to concentrate on my job during the games."

"Whenever people say things about me, it always comes back to Liverpool - but I cannot just become 'the former manager.' I am a professional football manager."

"I have experience and have been in Europe many times, so I know squad rotation is necessary to make everyone in the side stronger."