Carragher's warning to Benitez
Jamie Carragher underlined the critical nature of Liverpool's summer spending plans yesterday as he recalled how Gerard Houllier blew a similar opportunity to bridge the gap at the top of the Premiership.
As co-owner Tom Hicks revealed Liverpool were just days away from completing the first of several key signings, believed to be Lyon's Florent Malouda, Carragher warned of the pitfalls that scuppered Houllier's hopes of developing a title-winning team five years ago when nearly £20million was spent on El Hadji Diouf, Salif Diao and Bruno Cheyrou.
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Work to do: Jamie Carragher (back) has words of warning for boss Rafa Benitez
Houllier was sacked two years later, and Carragher said: "We're facing a very similar situation. Gerard Houllier had done really well for three years and that was the summer everyone was looking for us to push on.
"Rafa Benitez has done brilliantly since he came here, but it's fair to say everyone will be looking for us to close that gap at the top now. That last step is always the hardest."
