Rafa hails 'right-back' Dirk

Rafa Benitez today heaped praise on Dirk Kuyt for his role in getting Liverpool back to winning ways - and revealed how the Dutchman offered to play at right-back amid the club's injury crisis.

Kuyt was the two-goal hero as Liverpool beat top-four rivals Tottenham last week and was the subject of several questions as the gaffer gave his pre-Wolves press conference on Monday.

"He has a fantastic mentality," Benitez told reporters. "We talk about him being a striker who has played on the right because we needed it. He can also play as a second striker.

"When we played in the Cup and Philipp Degen had cramps, he said to me that if I wanted he could play at right-back.

"It's not just his versatility and the fact he's in very good condition, it's his mentality. He's always ready to help the team.

"He is a player that every manager would want in their team. You can play him or not but he's always available, always ready and always helping the team.

"When you talk about a squad or a winning team, you need players with this mentality. If you have to change something for a game or have to put a player out of position, he is always available. That's massive for a manager."

Click here for a two minute version of the press conference>>

Meanwhile, Benitez has been delighted with the attitude of his players in the last two fixtures against Tottenham and Stoke.

Now he wants to see the same workrate at Wolves, where victory will lift the Reds into fourth place.

"The players have been really good," said the boss. "The commitment and the team spirit has been very good.

"When you don't have two important players like Gerrard and Torres, everyone has to stick together and work hard. The players have taken responsibility.

"People realise we could have won that (Stoke) game and I think it was a really good performance from the team. Since then we've been stronger.

"Wolves work very hard and have a good mentality as a team, so I think it will be a tough game for us. But we have the challenge that we can be in the top four if we beat them.

"We had problems with injuries, late goals and beach balls. If you put everything together it could have made a big difference. But everyone is working so hard now that it's easier for us to get results."

Benitez believes there will be plenty more twists in the race for Champions League qualification regardless of Tuesday's result.

"The four teams are so close and I think it will be the same for the rest of the season, so it's not a big difference if you're fifth or fourth at this stage," he said.

With Liverpool out of the FA Cup, Benitez gave his players some time off before they returned to full training on Saturday.

He added: "Maybe (being out of the Cup) you'll have more time to train with the players. When you have two games a week you cannot prepare things too much. You have to carry on with the games and rest players with light training.

"When you have time you can prepare things a bit better."

Elsewhere, Nabil El Zhar and Martin Kelly are back in training following persistent injury problems.