Benitez defiant despite Liverpool’s latest Hammer blow

PUBLICLY at least, Rafa Benitez insists he is confident he will given time to rejuvenate Liverpool’s fortunes and lead the club into Champions League qualification once again this season.

The majority of those watching at Upton Park last night were not so convinced, and that must have included the 3,000 supporters in the lower tier of the Centenary Stand, after Mark Noble’s injury time penalty gave West Ham a deserved victory.

And one cannot help but wonder what Liverpool’s American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett must have thought when they received news of this defeat. Hicks said on Sunday that he would be backing his manager. Ominously for Benitez, that statement is already beginning to appear like a dreaded vote of confidence.

But whether it is confidence or arrogance, Benitez refuses to admit publicly that his team cannot win the title. Asked if this the final nail had now been hammered into his side’s championship coffin for another campaign, the Spaniard said simply: ‘‘I prefer only to concentrate on our next match against Sunderland.’’

But he did add: ‘‘I’m still confidence we will qualify for Europe, and I mean the Champions League, not the UEFA Cup. I think we deserved to win and I am confident I will be given time to turn things around. We made a mistake with the last kick of the game, but sometimes that happens in football.’’

A poor Liverpool performance hinged on two penalty decisions: unfortunately for Benitez, referee Alan Wiley did not award one when Sami Hyypia’s header appeared to strike West Ham captain Lucas Neill on the arm midway through the second half, but the official had no option but to point to the spot when Jamie Carragher foolishly tripped Freddie Ljungberg as went past him in the area with 93 minutes on the clock.

Noble stepped up to slot his spot kick beyond keeper Jose Reina to give the Hammers the points. ‘‘I thought both were penalties,’’ said Benitez. ‘‘But sadly, only one of them was given.’’

WEST HAM: Green, Neill, Ferdinand, Upson, McCartney, Ljungberg, Noble, Mullins, Bowyer (Ashton 58), Boa Morte (Etherington 59), Cole (Spector 81). S

LIVERPOOL: Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Aurelio, Benayoun (Babel 72), Gerrard, Alonso, Kewell (Lucas 61), Torres, Kuyt.

Ref: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).