Benitez: Torres rotation part of masterplan

LIVERPOOL boss Rafael Benitez insists his hunger to secure more major trophies at the end of the season is precisely the reason hotshot striker Fernando Torres will have to get used to life on the bench.

Torres played only the last half-hour of last week’s Premier League stalemate against Birmingham and responded in midweek with a stunning hat-trick in the Carling Cup win at Reading.

But despite Liverpool’s desperate need to get back to winning ways in the league after two successive goalless draws, Benitez warned Torres is far from guaranteed a starting place at Wigan today.