We'll back Rafa - Gillett - Sport in brief

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Benitez has urged Gillett and co-owner Tom Hicks to fund a major spending spree if the beaten Champions League finalists are to mount a challenge on all fronts next season.

Gillett seems ready to do just that, saying in the Daily Telegraph: "If Rafa said he wanted to buy 'Snoogy Doogy', we would back him."

The American tycoon would also back any attempt to bring Michael Owen back to Anfield but insisted Benitez would have the final say on what strikers the club recruits.

Gillett added: "He [Owen] is a great player but it is down to Rafa's recommendation, not us.

"Rafa's feeling is we need more depth because of the rigours of the schedule to be competitive.

"In every sport I participate in, there is a difference between a league season and the play-offs.

"That's where the genius of the manager is so essential and that's where Tom and I have to defer to his background and genius."