SOCCER:Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is confident that captain Steven Gerrard can put his court appearance out of his mind when he faces Everton in the FA Cup this weekend.
Gerrard appeared at North Sefton Magistrates’ Court earlier today to answer charges of assault and affray following an alleged incident in a Southport bar last month.
The midfielder made a brief appearance in court and did not make a formal plea, and the case was adjourned for a second hearing at the same court on March 20th.
The court was told that Gerrard will then plead not guilty, and it is expected the case will be committed to crown court at the second hearing.
Gerrard was driven straight from court to Liverpool’s training ground, where he resumed his preparation for Sunday’s fourth-round clash.
It had been reported Benitez might rest his captain following the court hearing, but the Spanish coach dismissed that suggestion today.
“Steven was working as normal in the training and he was scoring goals — and you could see the spirit was there that he always has,” Benitez reported.
“Steven is in the right frame of mind. I have watched him in training, and he is fine.
“He scored a few goals in five-a-side — and he is very positive and okay for the match.
“He showed the other week (when all this started) that he has a responsibility to the fans and the club.
“He is a very good professional and showed he can concentrate on the job — and he knows he has our full support.”
Benitez would not confirm Gerrard will start the match, although that is now expected.
Liverpool will make changes from the side held 1-1 in the Premier League by Everton on Monday, with matches at Wigan next Wednesday and then at home to Chelsea the following Sunday to consider.
Goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri, defender Andrea Dossena, midfielders Lucas, Yossi Benayoun and Javier Mascherano and winger Ryan Babel could all come into the side.
Benitez had more than just Gerrard’s mental condition to concern him as he prepared for the local showdown.
Liverpool’s build-up has been overshadowed by the prospect of another takeover, this time from the super-rich Al Kharafi family from Kuwait.
Benitez brushed that aside, insisting: “I knew nothing of this and I was surprised to see what is being said, but I would prefer to train the team and concentrate on the game with Everton.”
He tried to distance the playing side of the club from what is clearly another major conflict inside the club’s corridors or power — with co-owner Tom Hicks and his partner George Gillett seemingly working independently.
Benitez said: “We are in a very good position in all the competitions and really focused on football. We know things can happen around (the club). But at the end we have to come to work, to train and to be ready for the next game.
“The atmosphere here inside the training ground is fine. We do not have problems here. The players are working together, and there are no problems between them.
“All I can say is that we know we must win; we must progress in all the competitions. It will be difficult against Everton, so we must focus on only what happens on the pitch.
“We do not have any problems here. I cannot think about the future; I am only thinking as far as the next game.”
Benitez knows that only a victory against Everton will do.
He said: “We were disappointed not to win against Everton on Monday; we were leading until the final minutes and we must not allow ourselves to make the sort of mistakes we made in those last minutes.
“We feel we have the quality to win this second match with Everton. It is not a problem playing them twice in a week — we had a similar experience last season when we played Arsenal three times in a couple of weeks.
“We do not have to waste much more paper or ink writing the tactics. We want to get to the final again — the experience we had winning the Cup in 2006 was wonderful. We know how important it is for the fans to do it again. But to do that we know we must beat Everton.”
