"We wanted to see what we could do with the players we'd already bought. We just wanted to see if the team was going to gel,'' Hicks told Sports Illustrated. "And he went to a press conference and kind of pouted and answered the same question 20 times, 'I'm focusing on my team.'

"And then the media made up everything from that point forward. They made up that we were going to fire him. They made up that I told him to shut up. They made up this battle between Benitez and the Americans. It's really funny to kind of watch.''

On Liverpool fans protesting against he and George Gillett ahead of the match against Manchester United, Hicks insisted: "They wanted to protect Rafa. That part you have to admire,'' Hicks said. "We think Rafa's terrific. We put all that behind us.''