Reina wants more after stalemate

PEPE REINA admits Liverpool didn’t deserve any more than a share of the spoils from Saturday's dour stalemate at Blackburn Rovers.

The Spanish goalkeeper kept a third successive clean sheet at Ewood Park but insists he would have happily sacrificed that for maximum points.

Substitute David Ngog went close to breaking the deadlock when he struck the bar, while Nikola Kalinic wasted a glorious chance for Rovers late on.

"I would swap a clean sheet for a victory all day long," Reina said.

"Apparently we are defending better now than we were and that is important but we have to win because that is what really matters.

"Having said that, if you cannot win then the next most important thing is not to lose, so at least we managed that.

"It was a very difficult game, a physical game. We had two or three chances but they also had a couple of chances. It was a tight game and in the end I think a draw was a fair result."

The draw extended Liverpool's unbeaten run in all competitions to six games but they slipped back to seventh in the Premier League.

Wednesday night's meaningless final Champions League group game against Fiorentina is followed by a crunch league clash with Arsenal at Anfield next Sunday.

"Our target now is simple - to win the next game," Reina added.

"When we get to May we will be able to talk about what we have or haven't achieved, that is the time to talk about everything.

"It is always difficult when you play away from home, especially when the team you are playing against pushes from the very first minute.

"We knew that Blackburn would be like this and we wanted to control the game from the very beginning but we couldn't and at times it was difficult to deal with the first ball and the second ball.

"We came under some pressure but in the second half we showed another face and we were a lot better."

Meanwhile, Rafa Benitez has held "positive talks" with Javier Mascherano about a new contract.

The Argentina midfielder is wanted by Barcelona but the Liverpool manager is determined to keep him at Anfield.

Benitez said: "We were talking with him and his agent a month ago about our idea and his idea.

"He's doing really well and has come back to his best. We were really pleased to talk to him to make progress.

"We have plenty of time but we are happy with him and he is happier now too.

"He has two more years on his contract, we were talking before and we will sit down sooner rather than later and talk about the future. The last conversations that we had were very positive."

Benitez is also hoping to tie up a new contract for Reina over the coming months.

"Pepe has been improving every single year and he will improve more because goalkeepers have more time in their career," he added.

"He's always positive and he's one of the best in the training sessions because his attitude is always good.

"It depends on the agent and what the player wants but Pepe is very happy here in Liverpool so I don't see a big problem. The team-mates love him because he's a very good example."

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