Rafa asks for character to be shown in derby.

By Kate7
March 19 2005

Sunday sees the 201st Merseyside derby take place at Anfield. The Reds lie 7 points behind their city rivals with Everton starting to look as though they might be able to hold on.

Following Wednesdays match against Blackburn, in which Reds fans saw a mediocre performance, Rafael Benitez is asking the players to prove they have the right mentality to fight for fourth place. This is our most ‘must win’ derby in years and every player has to stand up and be counted.

In an interview with Liverpool.tv Rafa said:

"Always in the derby the supporters want to win. It's more than just three points," he said.

"If your neighbour is smiling across the fence from you then that shows it's more than just three points. For us, we know we need to win to reduce the gap.

"A derby is always important, but now even more so. At this moment, they have an advantage over us so it's important for us to win and eat into that. I hope my players have the character to cope with the pressure. We will find out.

"Everton are having a good season and they have been very consistent. They play the same system all the team and all work hard for each other.

"Maybe they will come to defend like Blackburn did in the week. If they do then we need to be more careful with our final pass to try and break them down.

"It's a big game for us, we know that. If we don't win then it will be difficult for us but I have confidence in my team."

He added: "I'm sure Everton will try to do the same as they did in the last game when they battled very hard. I know it will be similar test to the one we had against Blackburn so we will have to improve our level for this game and play a lot better than in the last derby and in midweek.

"We've tried to improve our defence, but in doing so we may have lost something in our attack. Now we need to get the right balance. I want to see more intensity. We've spoken to the players and told them what we need to do.

"The first derby was much as I expected. We know how important the game is, not only because of the league table, but also for the supporters.

"They are going into the game with a lot of confidence and I expect they will play a compact defence and counter-attack.

"Maybe this is our second cup final of the season. We're playing a side with a lot of confidence. We live for important games and this is very important."