Under-pressure Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez was delighted with his side's performance, despite the Reds being held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.

A last-gasp Robert Huth strike denied the Reds a morale-boosting victory, but for Benitez the display dispelled any talk of Anfield unrest.

He told the club's official website:"I was very pleased, it is something we can build on. Talk of problems in the dressing room are not true.

"You could see the response from the players. Is someone saying there is a problem with Steven Gerrard? Not true. He was here today supporting the team - that says everything.

"The main thing, with some players out, was to show character and react. The players were fantastic, working very, very hard. The fans appreciated this and supported the team.

"I'm really pleased with the performance against a difficult team. In a tough game we did almost everything to win.

"If you asked me before the game in normal circumstances if I'd take a point, I'd say it's not bad, but after winning for 89 minutes I felt we could have got the three points.

"In football, sometimes things go against you. We have these problems, but the only way to change things is to keep going, keep working hard.

"We got one point when it could have been three, so we've lost two points."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email