Defensively we were naïve as a unit

Benitez spoke about Benayoun and midfielder Lucas after the game which saw his side record their second 4-0 home win of the season. On Benayoun he said: "We know he's a player with quality. We have seen how good he is coming from the bench and we were talking about whether he could start or not. He was very, very good and his movement was fantastic for the team.

"During the internationals I was talking with some players about how they could change things, and it was just to work hard. Yossi was away but he wanted to play, and when a player wants to play it's very easy; you have to prove these things in every training session and in a game if you get the opportunity.

"Yossi is someone with experience and he knows the best way to fight for your position is doing something well on the pitch."

Benitez thought Brazilian Lucas was key to the victory though. "Lucas supporter and managed in the middle and kept everyone else going," he said. "For me he was the key player today.

"We can talk about Yossi but it was thanks to Lucas. One thing everyone told me when I came here was that if you work hard the fans are with you. They could see again that Lucas is a worker who has quality. He can challenge in the air, tackle and pass the ball.

"He worked so hard in different positions and allowed the other players more freedom. For me he was a very important player for us today."

Owen Coyle surveyed the wreckage of a 4-0 defeat and said: "I am disappointed that we lost 4-0 in the game. We were well in it and Liverpool had a couple of long range shots and we looked comfortable before they scored.

"But what I have told the lads in the dressing room is that if you switch off at any given moment, the quality that the top players have can punish you.

"It is a huge learning curve and the disappointment today from my point of view was the goals we conceded. Defensively we were naïve as a unit. The first goal we backed off into our own box and the second, I felt, looked offside.

"That gave us a mountain to climb and over the piece I cannot argue with the result because they deserved to win. But we know there is work to be done to stop gifting up soft goals."

The manager continued: "We have to take our medicine because it hurts to lose games, but there has to be a sense of realism as well and it's about getting that balance right.

"My group of players have been magnificent from day one in my time at the football club and here we are, on six points. Liverpool and Chelsea are never going to be the group of teams we are compared against in terms of league position.

"We now have a massive game at home next week against Sunderland and we have to make sure we are inventive, positive and at our best."