Originally Posted by BBC Sport

Benitez refuses to laud Ferguson


Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez refused to congratulate Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson for beating his side to the Premier League title.

"I prefer just to say well done to the club, a big club, a good club," he said after Liverpool beat West Brom 2-0.

"Normally you have to be polite and respect the other manager but during the season we have seen a lot of things that I didn't like, so that's it.

"I say congratulations to United because they have won. And that's it."

Benitez's comments will only serve to continue the ongoing feud between the two managers as they have traded blows while their teams have battled for the league crown.

United's victory gave them a record-equalling 18 titles along with Liverpool.

The Old Trafford club will also be targeting a fourth European Cup triumph when they play Barcelona on 27 May and that would put them one behind Liverpool's haul of five wins in the competition.

Liverpool's win over the Baggies should secure second place in the Premier League but the victory was marred by an on-field spat between Jamie Carragher and Alvaro Arbeloa.

The pair were involved in a heated pushing exchange as the Reds struggled to keep a Baggies side at bay late on.

"The disagreement between my two players was because we wanted another clean sheet, we wanted 21," explained Benitez.

"I don't like what I saw but I am trying to see the positive side of things.

"We were looking to hit targets, a record points tally for the club of 83 and we achieved that. We wanted 13 away league wins, which is also a record.

"And we wanted another clean sheet and runners-up position. You could see why Jamie Carragher was like he was with Alvaro Arbeloa.

"For me that is a positive message about the mentality of the team. We wanted to show character and a desire to win and be second and stay as close as we could to Manchester United.

"Arbeloa was going forward and we had some problems in defence, so we wanted to protect Jose Reina better, he has 20 clean sheets and Manchester United's Edwin van der Sar has 21. That was important."

Liverpool have now failed to win the top-flight title since 1990 and Benitez says they will continue to compete with their rivals until a new stadium is built for the Reds.

The construction of a replacement stadium for the current Anfield home has been delayed by co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

"On an economic level we cannot fight with the other big teams, at least for now, in particular because of the stadium," added Benitez.

"Manchester United's Old Trafford has 76,000 seats, Arsenal's Emirates has 60,000 and Chelsea can count on Abramovich.

"Until we have a new stadium, we will not be able to compete economically. In the meantime we'll have to do things very well to be competitive."