Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez
Despite agreeing terms on a deal in December, the 49-year-old Spaniard is unwilling to sign a new deal until his role within the club’s youth academy and pertaining to player recruitment at Anfield is clearly defined. Benitez told the Liverpool Echo: “The owners feel that the manager’s decisions need to be subject to the chief executive, but I know I am subject to results and to our fans – and they are the best judges I will ever have.
“I have a lot of experience in football at different clubs and if you do not have a technical director and you are the manager, you have to have control of the football decisions. “In this scenario the manager knows the amount of money he has available to him and can decide how much he should spend on each player according to the needs of the team. “The only person who can decide the value of a player to his squad is the manager because he knows what elements are needed to improve the squad.”
Benitez stressed that his reasons for refusing the offer are purely footballing ones, and that he is fully committed to the club. “I have to say again that this is not about financial gain. This is not a way to get more money,” Benitez said. “This is solely about being allowed to manage Liverpool Football Club to the best of my abilities as I see them. “I believe that this club has the potential to improve and I just want to be able to help this to happen. “I will continue to do my job as manager and concentrate on the thing that our fans want me to focus on – winning trophies for them. “From the first day I came to the club I have only ever given 100 per cent and I will continue to do this. “We have a very important game coming up against Everton on Monday night and now I just want to be able to concentrate only on this.”
from: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com
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