Benayoun says there is still a long way to go

Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun says the Reds can put things right this season and states the Premiership has a long way to go.

"Of course we are very disappointed. We didn't expect to lose but it was just one of those games," said the Israeli international to the official site.

"We need to try and improve and quickly, starting on Saturday against Bolton.

"We didn't play like we can play, we didn't move the ball like we did against Stoke in the second half.

"We missed our chances, particularly in the first half, and we conceded two goals from set-pieces.

"The second goal was a major blow. Losing 1-0 half-time you think you can get back into it, but 2-0 right on half-time put everyone down a little bit.

"We played a bit better in the second half, but everything went wrong for us.

"To lose two out of three is unusual for us. We lost only twice through the whole of the last Premier League season, and we have to show that we are still a strong team.

"We need to recover from this and look to work game by game, and work hard to play better.

"At a club like Liverpool, if you lose two or three games then people will ask if we are strong enough to win the league. But there is still a long way to go, everything can change.

"If we go on a long winning run then people will start talking differently about us."

"I don't think it's the senior players who need to come to the fore, it's all of the players. We know what we need to do to improve. This was one of those.

"I'm sure we have enough quality. We still think we can win the title. Maybe we cannot lose any more games until the end of the season, but we believe we are strong enough to be there at the end of the season. But it's too early to speculate, we just need to look to get a run of winning games.

"We have a lot of good players here already, enough to win the league. Aquilani is still injured and can bring us a lot of good things, we have a very strong squad, and we don't need to look at those kind of excuses after losing two games. We have enough quality to win games.

"It's important to get a winning run together, but maybe it's good that we have an international break coming up after the Bolton game.

"We have to try and come back stronger and we have games that we believe we can win. If we can win three or four games then the confidence can come back."

"Because there are other teams that are stronger, I feel the big four will lose more points than expected. Villa have proven they can beat anyone, and I'm sure Man United, Chelsea and Arsenal will have tough games against the likes of Villa, Manchester City and Tottenham.

"Hopefully, at the end of the season we will still be there."

Benayoun agrees new deal at Anfield

Yossi Benayoun has committed his future to the Reds after agreeing terms on a new Anfield contract reports the Echo.

Benayoun had two years remaining on his current deal but Rafa Benitez was eager to reward the Israeli international with a contract extension after his best campaign yet in a Liverpool shirt last season.

“Talks have now been concluded successfully and Benayoun is set to sign a one-year extension which will see him remain with Liverpool until 2012,” says the story.

Benayoun is the latest player to commit their futures to the club, with Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Daniel Agger and Dirk Kuyt all agreeing deals at the end of last season. Benitez said: “We had to guarantee the future of the club first and then afterwards if you can improve then you must try to do so.

“This meant that the first thing we had to do this summer was to guarantee the futures of some of the players who are already here and we are happy that we have been able to do this in so many cases.”

Benitez has been dividing his time today between Liverpool’s academy in Kirkby and Melwood as the preparations for the coming season begins. “The majority of the first team squad returned to Melwood yesterday for a series of drills and tests ahead of pre-season trips to Switzerland, the Far East, Spain and Norway,” reports the Echo, whilst “Glen Johnson will join up with his new team mates for the first time on Wednesday.”

The defender along with captain Steven Gerrard have been given an extra few days off following international duty with England at the end of last season.

The Spanish players do not return until July 19 after their involvement in the Confederations Cup.

“Benitez was at the Academy to welcome the club’s latest batch of youngsters and also to meet with Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish on his first official day since rejoining the Reds,” reports the story.

Meanwhile, as reported on this site yesterday, the club has officially confirmed today that Jay Spearing and Stephen Darby have agreed new deals to stay at Anfield.

Transfer Speculation round up

Here’s a round up of other gossip, chitter-chat, rumour and speculation from around the web.

Yossi Benayoun, who recent reports suggests has been linked with Barcelona, is expected to be offered an extension to his Liverpool contract, which has two years left, claims the Echo. The article also says “the player himself seems set to reject any advances” from Catalan club, by quoting an interview the player made last week: “It could be Real Madrid knocking on my door, I'd still rather stay at Liverpool.” The comment was made before speculation arose of interest from Barcelona.

Luc Castaignos. “Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea are said to be competing for Luc Castaignos, the Feyenoord striker whose potential has been likened to Thierry Henry. Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, is expected to travel to the Netherlands this month to talk to the 16-year-old, who has two years left on his contract,” claim's the Times.

Glen Johnson. Also in the Times, “Manchester City have apparently made an approach for Glen Johnson, the Portsmouth right back who had been expected to move to Liverpool this summer. The 24-year-old, who has also attracted interest from Chelsea, his former club, signed a 4½-year contract in January after being pursued by Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool.”

Andrea Dossena. The Independent says “Benitez could soon tie up a deal to sell full-back Andrea Dossena to Juventus for £6.5m, after the Italian failed to settle at Anfield.”

Also in the Independent: Madrid sources have linked Alvaro Negredo, Alberto Bueno, Javier Saviola or Gabriel Heinze as possible makeweights in any possible deal for, yes, you guessed it: Xabi Alonso

Alvaro Negredo. Setanta has Real Madrid's Alvaro Negredo moving to Valencia in a swap plus cash cash with Valencia star David Villa. Negredo however seems open for a Liverpool move instead. Speaking to Spanish sports paper ‘AS’ he stated: “I already said they are a great club and playing alongside Fernando Torres would be huge."

Ezequiel Lavezzi's agent, Alejandro Mazzoni insists Liverpool have bid for the player despite denials from Benitez and Napoli general director Pierpaolo Marino. Quoted in the Telegraph Mazzoni said: "Pierpaolo Marino continues to lie," said Mazzoni. "I reiterate that a Fifa agent presented Napoli with an offer from Liverpool for Lavezzi. This was a formal procedure as the player cannot be contacted directly (by the interested club) because he is under contract with Napoli."

Benayoun would reject Real Madrid for Liverpool

Yossi Benayoun has re-iterated his desire to stay at Liverpool after playing a vital role in the second half of last season. Back in January, the 29-year-old said he would leave if he continued to play a bit part at Liverpool, with the midfielder attracting interest from Manchester City, West Ham, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal. Benayoun speaking to the Echo he said: “This has been the best season of my career. I have played a lot of games and scored some important goals, and I am very happy with that. At the moment, I am a Liverpool player, and unless something surprising happens, I will remain one. After such a good season, I have had some offers from England and Spain. You have to give that some consideration, so there will probably be some discussions with Liverpool. I have had a great two years at Anfield and enjoyed every minute. I have long since accepted that, with one or two notable exceptions, there is no such thing as an automatic choice at Liverpool. Unless you are Steven Gerrard, you are going to sit out one or two games, but that is no problem. Stevie is exceptional, and the rest of us accept that.”

“The good thing is I have been playing more. To be honest, it could be Real Madrid knocking on my door, and I would still rather stay at Liverpool.”