Benitez calls for swift resolution

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez says he will decide on his future in the next two weeks but insists he is only thinking about…

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez says he will decide on his future in the next two weeks but insists he is only thinking about Liverpool and not a move back to Real Madrid.

The Spaniard is yet to sign a new contract with the Reds despite having little more than a year to run on his current deal.

He has been at the centre of a tumultuous few years for the club that have been marred by a battle for power between American co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, constant speculation over finances, a potential takeover and the perceived embarrassment of his employers’ sounding out Jurgen Klinsmann as a replacement.

Amid the turmoil, the 48-year-old has struggled to turn Liverpool into genuine Premier League title contenders - although Tuesday's 4-0 hammering of Real Madrid continued their impressive form in the Champions League.

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Ahead of Saturday's crucial trip to face league leaders Manchester United, Benitez has called on the Anfield hierarchy to draw up a medium to long-term plan or face losing him.

"I must decide on my future in the next two weeks and I want a medium or long-term project," he is quoted as saying in The Sun. "I don't want to be working from day to day always hanging on the latest result. I will work where I feel I can develop a project."

Benitez has consistently been linked with Real, where he was once assistant manager and a youth team coach, but he added: "People who claim that I'm going to take over at Real Madrid are doing the wrong thing in spreading that idea.

"I have a contract with Liverpool, I owe Liverpool - I'm only thinking of them.

"Real Madrid are a great club but I'm at another wonderful club - one which motivates me.

"What I want is hard to find in Spain. Long-term projects do not exist, not like they do in England."