Asked whether he had made any contact with owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to discuss the current crisis, Benitez would only say: "I am not thinking about signing players at the moment, because they cannot play against (Standard) Liege tomorrow. I am only concentrating on this game.

"And I have not needed to contact the owners because they cannot help with the preparation for this match. I prefer not to say anything else."

His mood was remarkably serene considering the embarrassment of how the owners put the block on the Barry deal, and he said: "I was really calm last week, and I am concentrating on the game. We did not have big problems.

"I have not been distracted, I have been focusing on this game and getting to the Champions League group stages."