Paul Eaton 22 April 2005

Rafael Benitez has promised Liverpool will be "a lot closer" to the top of the table next season - as he admitted looking to the Reds' bootroom legends for inspiration to help him achieve his Anfield dream.

The Reds are currently in a tense battle for fourth place as they bid to claim the final Champions League spot for next season, but the boss is already planning for the future and admits the prospect of following in the footsteps of Shankly, Paisley, Fagan, Evans, Moran and Dalglish serves as a great motivation.

He said: "I hope we can have the same success because they made history and we have yet to achieve that.

"Those people are spoken about a lot here, they are institutions and for that reason they are the mirror in which we look at ourselves.

"If one day we are remembered like them, it will a great sign. For that reason speaking about them is another motivation to do things well.

"Every game we go to the bootroom and invite the rival manager to come in and have a drink with us.

"It's a corner with lots of history, just like this team and this stadium are legends in football."

He added: "We are working now, not just in the summer thinking about new players and possibilities in the future. We are confident in the future.

"I believe that next season we will be a lot closer to the top. Very, very close."

As for the remainder of this season, Benitez admits his team face a tough task to finish fourth.

"We can only keep winning our next match and hope Everton make a mistake," he said.

"They didn't against United, so we must move onto the next game and keep hoping. But we know we can't afford to lose anymore.

"It is still a three-horse race for fourth and the final game is Bolton against Everton, and that might be good for us.

"We do not know whether we need to win all four of our final games."