Rafa is still expected to consider quitting Liverpool at the end of the season in response to the boardroom turmoil that has engulfed the club.

While claims that Benitez threatened to resign on Sunday night in response to the revelation that chief executive Rick Parry was party to the meetings with Jurgen Klinsmann are wide of the mark, sources close to Benitez are understood to have confirmed that he will reassess his position after making another attempt to win the Champions League.

With a whole host of clubs - including Real Madrid - likely to offer him alternative employment, Benitez is in a position of strength and his anger at Sunday's disclosure that Parry met Klinsmann before Christmas has been interpreted as an attempt to ally himself with co-owner Tom Hicks against the chief executive. Yet Anfield sources are adamant that Benitez is genuinely - and understandably - angry that the latest round of behind-the-scenes machinations has overshadowed his team's recent on-field success.

Labels: rafa, rick parry, tom hicks