Midfielder aiming to repay Rafa's faith

Lucas Leiva today spoke of his determination to repay the faith shown in him by Rafa Benitez by helping Liverpool to Barclays Premier League glory.

The Brazilian midfielder, who has started all nine of the Reds' league matches so far this term, believes it is too early in the season to be talking about potential title winners.
 
However, although Lucas feels no one should be looking beyond the next game, he is confident Liverpool can end the campaign with some silverware.
 
"We are in a difficult moment, but we are the ones on the pitch and it is up to us to improve," said the 22-year-old.
 
"Rafa is a really good manager and now we have to try to win for ourselves, but also for him because he has been really good for us and for me in particular.
 
"He gave me opportunities and he gave me confidence, so now I want to pay him back by playing well, working really hard and performing as he expects me to.
 
"I have no doubt that we can win trophies. It is too early now to talk about the title. We know everyone wants us to win it because it has been so long since Liverpool were last champions, but we have to think of each game.
 
"It is all about winning games, building up momentum and then maybe we can talk about being in the title race come January."
 
Liverpool come up against Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday looking to secure their third consecutive victory over Alex Ferguson's side.
 
The Reds defeated United at Anfield last September, before going on to record a stunning 4-1 success at Old Trafford earlier this year - a game Lucas fondly remembers.
 
"That was my best day so far as a Liverpool player," he said.
 
"It was a really good game for us. We went 1-0 down and that made our task even more difficult, but we stuck together, played as a team and we scored four fantastic goals through Fernando [Torres], Stevie [Gerrard], Fabio [Aurelio] and Andrea Dossena. It was a great feeling and hopefully we will have the same feeling tomorrow.
 
"It is an opportunity for the team to show our quality and to prove that we can be in the title race."
 
The clash with United could pit Lucas against his former Gremio teammate Anderson in the heart of the midfield.
 
But Liverpool's No.21 says their friendship will be put to one side once the teams emerge from the tunnel.
 
He said: "I played with Anderson at Gremio and for Brazil at the [2008 Beijing] Olympics and we have played against each other already in this country.
 
"We are good friends, but on the pitch I will think only of Liverpool, not friendships.
 
"He is really strong and quick - he actually used to play as a striker in Brazil but now he is in the midfield - and he has a lot of quality. But when you are playing against Manchester United you cannot focus on just one player because you know that they have quality all over the pitch.
 
"Now we have a big opportunity in a big game against a big rival and it is a chance for us to show that we can get involved in the title race. Most importantly, though, it is a chance for us to give an important victory to our fans.
 
"We are desperate for medals, all of us. I want to help this club make history by winning trophies, the sooner the better, but for now I would just be happy to win our next game."