UNDER PRESSURE

From the Mirror:

Rafa Benitez's position at Liverpool is under pressure after a senior Anfield board member admitted the club is concerned about the direction the Spaniard is taking them.

With Liverpool already 11 points off the Premiership pace set by Manchester United and Chelsea, directors are already giving up hope of ending the championship drought that has already lasted 16 seasons.

And one influential figure on the six-man board revealed that Benitez's leadership of the team was being questioned.

“We have paid too many inflated prices and inflated wages for players who are not doing the job. When it comes to any manager, the view of the board has always been to let them get on with it. We do not believe in interfering.

“But the day will come when we may not be that way inclined any more. We have always been very respectful of any manager we appoint. The view has always been the same one, the right one - that the manager must stand or fall by his efforts.

“But one thing that we can't hide is that we have to be in the Champions League every season and if we do not qualify it will be a major problem.

“The budget we have set up is still in balance if we do not get into the Champions League. But if we are to make investment in the team we are talking about £20m of income we need to have every season.”