Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez insists he doesn't want TOTAL control on transfers as he thrashes out terms over a new contract.

"It's been said I want to control everything 100 per cent," said Benitez. "That isn't true, but if I am given a budget I should be allowed to work my way within that budget.

"If the budget is £20m in a transfer window, you can spend it all on one player or buy five players for £4m each. Who should decide? The manager. He knows what he needs and is the best person to decide the value of each player.

"It doesn't matter if you have one chief executive or 20 chief executives. It must be the manager who decides how the budget is spent. It's not personal against Rick Parry. I get on fine with him.

"I am happy to talk with the owners again whenever they want. I just want to stay at Liverpool for a long time. I am working very hard for the club and the fact I signed a 17-year-old, Victor Palsson, in this transfer window shows we are all thinking about the future."