WEST HAM'S AS BIG AS CHELSEA

Paul Eaton 28 January 2007

Rafael Benitez looked ahead to Tuesday's trip to Upton Park and insisted: "There's no point beating Chelsea and then losing to West Ham."
Liverpool's victory last weekend saw them climb to within five points of the Champions and the Reds have a chance to further reduce the gap when they take on the relegation-battling Hammers this week. Benitez was delighted with the manner of his team's success over Jose Mourinho's men but has warned against the dangers of being brought back down to earth with a poor performance in east London. "All of the players and fans enjoyed the score against Chelsea," said the boss. "The game was good, we showed character and quality and I was really happy. "It’s always good to win against the top sides but at the end of the day it was only three points. We had confidence before that game because we were winning and doing the right things, but now we have won I think we have more confidence. "As always, our idea is to take things one game at a time. You can't beat Chelsea and then lose to West Ham otherwise the position will be similar to what it was. "This game is just as important. We need to win it and not think about other challenges. The players understand that each three points are just as important and that means that we are moving in the right direction. "I hope having a free weekend will help us. The atmosphere among the players is really good and the committment they have shown in all of the training sessions has been fantastic."