Liverpool Kop back Benitez who insists: I only want the best for my club

The Liverpool manager spoke for the first time about his rift with Tom Hicks and George Gillett after two goals from his £26.5million Spanish striker Fernando Torres helped secure a crucial Champions League win over Porto on an emotional night at Anfield.

Criticism of the Americans' reluctance to sanction his January transfer plans has left Benitez's job on the line, but he insisted the damage could be repaired as he said: "I don't have any personal problems with the owners. I am not angry, just a little surprised by all that has happened. I am trying to improve the team, that is all.

"Maybe we do need to wait a little but it is a strange situation that has arisen. I read something about my ego being a problem but that simply isn't the case. I just want to look after my squad and improve it, if possible."

Benitez, who marched on to the pitch at the end and gave a clenched fist salute to the Kop, added: "Maybe it would be easier if I said nothing and just picked up my wages at the end of the month. But I prefer to be doing things and getting involved, and perhaps they will understand that. I want the best for my club, just as they do, and I am looking forward to talking with them.

"I don't think it is a case of being in a stronger position after this. We just need to discuss our ideas and the future of the club. I repeat, I have no personal problems with Tom Hicks or George Gillett."

Benitez admitted it had been the most emotional night of his Anfield career after hearing his name reverberate round the ground throughout.

"I want to thank our supporters because they were magnificent, as always," he said. "They were fantastic and deserve a big thank-you. I was so pleased and so proud. In fact, there were times when I had to tell myself to concentrate on the game. Emotions were running so high, I was in danger of losing my focus. I can hardly find the words in English to describe how I feel."

It was memorable night, with Steven Gerrard equalling Michael Owen's European record of 22 goals with a penalty. The delighted Liverpool skipper said: "It's a proud moment for me."

Peter Crouch wrapped up the decisive victory with a late headed goal.

But the occasion was about Benitez and such is the depth of support for him in his stand-off with the owners that many chose to express it in his native tongue, in and around Anfield, in the build-up to the game.

Around 2,000 fans gathered outside the nearby Sandon pub and unfurled banners and flags in readiness for a protest march designed to leave Hicks and Gillett in no doubt where public sympathies lay.

It was almost like being in the streets round the Mestalla, when news broke of the Madrid-born coach's imminent departure from Valencia, as pro-Benitez slogans, several in perfect Spanish, sent out an unmistakable message.

The prize for greatest ingenuity went to the banner that had a Spanish flag painted on it, along with Benitez's face superimposed on a picture of Che Guevara and a defiant No Pasaran. It translated as 'They Shall Not Pass' and was in close proximity to another that proclaimed En Rafa Confiamos, or 'In Rafa We Trust.'

There were plenty of English creations, too, ranging from God's Gift to Liverpool — Rafa Benitez, to an anti-Hicks barb that read: You're the Custodians. It's Our Club. Rafa Stays.

The backing for Benitez was just as unequivocal inside the ground. The first 'Rafa, Raf-ael' chants began about an hour before kick-off and were filling the night air on all sides by the time he emerged a couple of minutes after the teams.

But, in a gesture that appeared to say: 'It's the fans who count, not you', he jabbed a finger towards the directors' box then pointed across the pitch towards the stand opposite.

The official explanation afterwards was that he had been urging the crowd to get behind the team, rather than himself, but it seemed open to interpretation.