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Defiant Benitez: Reds lack belief

Rafa Benitez believes his players have the quality to go on a winning streak of games and turn their faltering Premier League season around.

The Liverpool boss says that confidence is low amongst the players right now after the Reds lost their seventh league game of the season on Saturday, going down 2-0 at bottom of the table Portsmouth.

But with an almost identical squad to the one that came so close to winning the league title last season, Benitez believes critics shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss Liverpool’s top four ambitions.

He says, “We always knew the battle for fourth would be difficult but we know we can play well.

“We know we have the quality, it’s just a question of belief. When the players have a run of games together we will improve.

“It’s tough when you have just lost and really disappointing, but if you analyse the game against Portsmouth carefully in the first half we had plenty of possession and were in control of the game.

“We started the game with real intensity but made a mistake for their first goal and paid for it. We have to defend better.”

The Reds next face Wolves at Anfield on Boxing Day (Saturday).