After defeat to Middlesbrough, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was in gloomy mood today as the club aim to contend with disappointment on the field and continued uncertainty off it.

Saturday’s loss left the Reds seven points behind leaders Manchester United, who still have a game in hand. And as he prepares his side for tomorrow’s home league meeting with Sunderland, Benitez is acutely aware recriminations are beginning to fly.

He will again be without striker Fernando Torres against the Black Cats, with full-back Alvaro Arbeloa still out with a hamstring injury. But less than a week after the memorable Champions League victory in the Bernabeu against Real Madrid, you can sense Benitez is dealing with broken spirits following the shattering defeat on Teesside.

That defeat, the culmination of just one win in seven league games, all but ended Liverpool’s chase for the title, regardless of whether they can continue their fine form in Europe.

Benitez, on his contract discussions, would only say that talks “will take place in maybe two days, maybe two weeks”.

The Spaniard also side-stepped questions over whether he had discussed the squad’s lack of depth with the club’s American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, but admitted: “We have talked about the mistakes we made (at Middlesbrough) and the future. And the immediate future is playing Sunderland, trying to get three points and then waiting to see what happens with Manchester United.

“The title was difficult before, it is more difficult now. What we have to do is take our chances, and that is something that has been the same problem the whole season.

“Maybe if Torres had not been injured so much things would be different, but we cannot change the situation now. Everybody has players who get injured.

“Since the Champions League win in Madrid we have had some problems, several players have been injured, among other things.

“The worst thing has been the injuries to Torres. He has been our main striker and scored a lot of goals for us last season. And this season could have been totally different with him.”

There are rumours also that there have been frank exchanges with senior players.

“At this stage of the season when every point is important, having your best players available is the most important thing because they have the experience,” said the Spaniard. “It is not fair to expect young players to come in and change games, that is when you need your more important players to bring something more to the side.

“We must keep going in the title race, to try to win each game as it comes along.

“Now we have the opportunity against Sunderland to do things right, to be able to approach the Real Madrid second leg next week with confidence. We have to remain positive.

“We have learned we must be more clinical, to finish games when you have chances.

“But we played with anxiety at Middlesbrough, we gave the ball away too easily with simple passes. These are things we have to improve if we are going to fight for the title.

“But we must not forget that our league performance is better than last season.

“Still we have to improve. Yes, we have had key players injured and maybe that could have cost us four or five points.

“In this title race that would be a massive difference. We are in a good position but we could be in a much better position.

“We are now rated in the UEFA rankings as the best team in Europe over the last five years, that underlines how we have done in those seasons.

“But we must go forward for the rest of the season, and in the future.

“The squad is good, but there are too many games when things go wrong and that makes a massive difference.

“We had confidence and we were in a very good position for a long time. It has been our best performance for several seasons.

“But when we need fresh legs when senior players are injured, things are not easy.

“To improve in attack is not easy, you can improve in defence with hard work but forwards need accuracy and confidence.”

Benitez’s mood was hardly improved by being asked whether he admired Alex Ferguson’s achievements. He said only: “Manchester United are a good team, they have very good players and they have a good manager.”