Yossi: Why Pepe is our Mr Motivator

Yossi Benayoun today revealed how a pep talk from one of Liverpool's senior players helped the Reds overcome their dip in form and beat Manchester United.

The Israeli was one of the star performers in last weekend's 2-0 victory - and he credits a team huddle orchestrated by goalkeeper Pepe Reina with giving him and his teammates extra confidence after four straight defeats.
 
"We spoke a lot to try and get the confidence," said the midfielder.
 
"Before the game Pepe decided in the moment to get everyone together. It wasn't something he had planned, he just wanted to give all the players some extra motivation. It worked."
 
Next up for Liverpool is a difficult trip to Craven Cottage on Saturday, a venue where Benayoun scored a last-minute goal to seal a crucial victory last term.
 
His strike had the travelling Kop singing 'We're gonna win the league' - a task which ultimately proved a bridge too far for the Reds. Even so, the 29-year-old still holds fond memories of that day back in April.
 
Now he's targeting a repeat performance.
 
"I hope we do it earlier this time!" said Benayoun.
 
"But if we are going to do that, we'll have to work as hard as we did against United. We knew we were under pressure but we spoke between ourselves and hoped our quality would come through.
 
"To be in the situation that we were after winning at Fulham last season, we have got to work hard. But if we keep playing as a team and showing our quality, we can keep giving something back to the supporters.
 
"We stepped up a level against United but that was only a return to the level we were playing at last season. I don't know whether it is a surprise to some people but maybe you can see why they think like that after we lost four games and played badly.
 
"We heard everyone saying we didn't have the confidence or quality to beat United or enough depth in the squad to win games of that importance. But hopefully we have shown everyone that is wrong. We still have lots of quality here.
 
"It was a must-win game last week. Losing four in a row is not a situation we are used to but to beat United as we did was the best way to recover. They are one of the best teams in Europe but we deserved the win.
 
"We knew we had to come back strong. The only way we could have won was by playing as a team, pressing from the first minute and working hard. We had the belief and we have quality players but we needed a win like this to get the confidence back.
 
"But we can't waste what we achieved last Sunday. We have got to make that win a turning point and believe that we can beat anyone. We've got to keep trying to play well but it won't be easy at Fulham."
 
Last season's corresponding fixture at the Cottage was arguably the highlight of a tremendous few months for Benayoun.
 
Such form has continued into 2009-10 and the winger is now established as a key figure in Rafa Benitez's team.
 
"I enjoyed the last four months of last season and felt I played well," he said. "But I'm playing more games now, I feel more confident.
 
"I'm just trying to do my best and improve in every game. When you play alongside good players, it's so much easier.
 
"That's why it's important to have a striker like Fernando. You know you can give him the ball in the area where he wants it and you know that he is going to finish well. I just hope Stevie is back alongside him soon, too. We'll be a better team then."