Stadium review is a good idea says Benitez

By Jeremy Butler

LIVERPOOL (Reuters) - Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez said on Friday he supported the decision of new owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to review the plans for the club's proposed stadium.

The Americans have halted preparatory work to set up a review of the new stadium to discover if they can increase the proposed 60,000 capacity.

"We talked about 60,000 fans, that would be fantastic but now we're talking about 70 or 80,000 and that would be better," Benitez told reporters on Friday.

"More Liverpool supporters could see the game and there are more possibilities for the club in terms of money. For me, it's good for the club."

Benitez says building the new stadium is just part of the work Hicks and Gillett need to complete to bring Liverpool onto a par with Manchester United and Chelsea.

He believes the club are heading in the right direction but need to speed up their plans.

"The message is clear - we need to improve in a lot of things," he added.

"You can't spend 100 million pounds each year on players to improve the team. We are a top side, we are in the Champions League and we have to look at ways of improving the club.  Continued...