Rafa's big match preview

Ahead of Liverpool's Monday night clash with the Latics, Rafa Benitez took time out of his preparations to speak to radio journalists. Here is what he had to say...

On the race for fourth place...

We have Torres now coming back, Gerrard scoring goals. They will have more confidence and it will also be a boost for all the players. Maybe we have more quality now in attack, also with Benayoun. Still we are strong  in defence - we were without Skrtel the other day and changed Carragher and Mascherano, but still we were strong enough. We are in a good moment, but we have to carry on and keep winning games.

On hoping players on international duty return injury-free...

We have some experience of this so the only thing that you can do at this time is relax and afterwards speak to the doctor and see if something has happened. You cannot change things, so if you have Kyrgiakos, Kuyt, Babel or Benayoun  playing games around the world then you have to relax because if not it will be very bad for my health.

On how many points Liverpool can afford to drop...

I don't think it is easy to say because it depends on the other teams too. Normally, you would not expect the top teams to lose so many games. Last year we lost just two and didn't win the title and this year you have teams losing four or five games, so you never know. I think that you have to see the situation in the table every week and every game, because you cannot change things. The main thing for us is to try and concentrate on our games and try to win every game.

On the threat of Wigan...

In the Premier League you don't have too many easy games. Wigan are in a battle to avoid relegation so it will be very difficult for us. They try to play football and they have some strong players too, so I think we will have to respect Wigan. Roberto Martinez is doing a good job, so it will be difficult. They have changed the pitch - we don't know how it will be so there are a lot of things we will have to consider.

On ensuring Liverpool end the season on a high...

It is very clear that you cannot lose too many games or drop too many points. You have to win more or less every game if you want to be sure that you will be there (fourth place). Wigan are around the bottom of the table so some people are saying 'You have to win this game!'. We know it is not just this one game, it will be Portsmouth and Manchester United or someone else. So we know we have to be ready for every game and try to get it.

On the importance of Torres remaining fit...

Fernando is a key player for us in the same way as Gerrard, but still we have some good players around. So it is important for us not to have too many injuries. We have lost Aurelio and Skrtel for a while now and we don't want to lose anyone else. Especially when you talk about Fernando, because he can score goals and he can make a difference on his own. Hopefully he will be okay, he was training today, we had a day off and he was training so that means he wants to improve. So that is good news for us.

On playing against relegation strugglers...

Sometimes you can see that there will be more determination in the other team, but also maybe they will be more anxious. You never know, it depends on the character of the players and depends on how the game is going on. So if we start really well and we score I am sure they will be under pressure, but if it goes the other way they will have more determination.

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On Wigan's form...

They are a little bit inconsistent, they played really well against Chelsea for example, but after they lost to Tottenham so it is really difficult to say especially when you are with another team. You don't know the details of how they work and what they do. I think it is better to think about our game and if after the game they can be consistent and win more games then fantastic.

On Javier Mascherano's form...

He has been improving. It was a difficult position for him to play as right full-back, which is not his position. He has come in and done fantastic and I think he is more focussed, he is happier. I was talking with him and his agent the other day and Javier is happy and wants to improve and ensure that we finish in the top four, so I am really pleased with his attitude.

On Mascherano's versatility...

When we were thinking about who had to play at right full-back, we knew that Carragher had to play as centre back because Kyrgiakos was suspended and Skrtel was injured. So I needed to talk with Javier and he came to my office and I said 'Listen, we are thinking about playing you as a right full-back' and he said 'Fine' and we finished the conversation. He was so pleased to help that I was also very pleased and then we spoke about movement and position and what he needed to do, but the first thing was his attitude -  his attitude was fantastic,  he said 'Yes, no problem'.

On Kyrgiakos...

He started really well, he played against Bolton and was very good against Kevin Davies and after he couldn't play as many games because Skrtel, Carragher and Agger were available. We brought him here because he was really good in the air, which was the main thing and we were surprised, because he is a fantastic professional. He is a very, very good lad and he is always very keen to learn. I was expecting his English to be better, I said 'You played in Scotland' and he said 'Yes, but I could not understand a word!'. I am really pleased and hopefully he can play more games.

On Steven Gerrard's encouragement to younger players...

Stevie's more mature now and has realised when you are the captain of the team you have young players who look up to you for an example. You have to encourage and support them and I think that Stevie can do this really well. I think he is trying to help young players so you can see his commitment to some players. Young players need help sometimes and senior players have to give them confidence.

On Pepe Reina's performance against Blackburn...

When you talk about a goalkeeper at a top side, normally he does not have too much to do during a game, so to be involved in this game especially at the end with his save shows you the level of the player. We are really pleased to keep him here for a long time. He is always talking and organising the defenders. He is a modern keeper, sometimes keepers are really good in the six yard box, but Pepe is really good in the 18-yard box.

On Glen Johnson's fitness...

He is really close. He has been training with us and yesterday we played a game against the reserves. He was involved so I have to decide if he will be in the squad or not, but I think he can be.

On the boost Johnson's return can give the team...

He is another player with quality so hopefully he will give us different options on the right side, we have had problems in this position. He has quality going forward and is the best in England in his position so I will be really pleased to see him back.

On Agger's fitness...

He is okay. The knee is not a problem so I think he can train tomorrow and Sunday and be available for Monday.

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