| Rafa Benitez believes Liverpool have firmly established themselves as one of the biggest forces in European football. | |
| Although the Reds will end the season without any silverware, the Anfield boss feels Liverpool's strong title challenge demonstrates the quality of his side and admits he is pleased with the progress the team has made in 08-09. | |
"I think that we are clearly one of the top sides in Europe now," he said.
"We have shown this in the Champions League in recent years and now we have shown it in the Premier League by staying so close to Man United until the very end and this means that we have really improved.
"We will not win any trophies but it has still been a very good season and we have shown the progress that the team has made.
"When you talk about winning trophies in the Premier League in England you always have to remember that the other teams are so strong and the top sides are so good that you can break the club record for points and still it isn’t enough.
"It is important to show that we can be contenders and we have managed to do this and this sends out a very good message for the future.
"We know that 83 points is a very good record but that 86 would be even better so winning this game is the most important thing, as well as playing well in front of our fans."
Liverpool have won nine of their last 10 league fixtures - dropping points only to Arsenal in the pulsating 4-4 draw at Anfield last month - and Benitez is delighted with the superlative form of his side, which he feels bodes well for the future.
"As a manager you know that you have made mistakes because you can never guarantee that everything will be perfect in every single game," he added.
"But it is also important to remember when we talk about the games that we have drawn that we also won a lot of games at the end which would otherwise have been draws.
"So you never know but if you analyse the statistics at the end of the season and they show that you have got 83 or 86 points then you know that it isn’t easy to do too much better."
Benitez cites an improved understanding between his players as a key reason for Liverpool's progression and the Spaniard has challenged his team to maintain their high level of performance next season.
He said: "The understanding of the players during the second half of the season has been really good. In the first half it was good but in the second half it has been even better.
"We have seen players like Benayoun, Gerrard and Lucas who have all played better in the second half of the season and this was important for me.
"The main thing now will be to keep the consistency, this is always the most important thing when you are talking about the Premier League."
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