Benitez confident in the face of pressure

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez claims he is under the same pressure as before any other game heading into Tuesday’s make-or-break Champions League clash with Marseille.

The Merseysiders face a defining week in their season - the Stade Velodrome qualification decider being followed by a Barclays Premier League summit meeting against Manchester United and then a Carling Cup quarter-final against Chelsea.

Off the field, Benitez will meet with club owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett on Sunday, weeks after he publicly questioned their reluctance to release funds to spend in the January transfer window.

With tomorrow's showdown coming days after a disappointing 3-1 league defeat to Reading, it is hardly the ideal way to head into the biggest match of the Reds' campaign so far.

But Benitez, whose future has been called into question as a result of his spat with the Americans, is taking it all in his stride.

‘It is an important game but I was hearing the same questions one or two months ago,’ said the Spaniard.

‘I was surprised then because we were unbeaten at that time, but we have now lost. Maybe in three months' time we'll again be talking about the defining week in the season.

‘I've said 100 times that we have experience of these types of games. If you are fighting to win trophies, you are always going to be under pressure.

‘I'm feeling the same pressure as before any game. This is like a final and we are just thinking about this game, then we will think about United and Chelsea.’

Liverpool know a win will guarantee them a top-two finish in Group A and passage through to the tournament's knockout stages. Even a draw would suffice if Besiktas manage to beat Porto away tomorrow night.