The former Liverpool manager’s arrival in the dugout shortly before kickoff was serenaded by jeers and boos from the home supporters, who continued to chant Di Matteo’s name throughout the first half.
“I was just concentrating on the game, I was not paying attention to anything else, just the performance of the players on the pitch,” Benitez told reporters. “I can understand (the boos) because of the rivalry in the past but I just want to do my job. I want to win for the club and I want to win with them.”
Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers failed to put one over his former side Swansea City on Sunday, but the Liverpool manager did leave Wales with optimism, if not the full three points, after a 0-0 draw.
“I thought there was a marked difference,” said Rodgers. “I was really pleased with the quality of our game. But, there were opportunities around the box where we could have got a shot off a bit quicker.”
In other matches, Tottenham Hotspur coach Andre Villas-Boas refused to be drawn into a discussion about alleged abusive chanting from West Ham United fans during Spurs’ 3-1 victory, while Southampton’s victory over Newcastle United saw the Saints move out of the drop zone.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 27th, 2012.
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