FA PREMIER LEAGUE:IT WAS not a coincidence Liverpool chose yesterday to announce Steven Gerrard had agreed a two-year extension to his contract and it had nothing to do with their captain's appearance at court where he denied a charge of affray.

In the short term, as the club pursue Manchester United for the title their manager, Rafael Benitez, believes could be settled by goal difference, the news that Gerrard has signed up until 2013, when he will be 33, serves as a statement of unity.

In the longer run it suggests the cracks, that were sometimes more than hairline, in the relationship between Liverpool’s manager and their most inspirational player since Kenny Dalglish, have been filled in. Gerrard has sometimes not tried too hard to disguise his frustration with Benitez, a man he has regarded as cold and distant, especially when compared with his predecessor, Gerard Houllier, with whom he had a great rapport.

Benitez, for his part, appeared to recognise he would never be Houllier: “There has always been talk about [why I don’t put] ‘the arm round the shoulder’,” he said yesterday, while insisting his dealings with Gerrard are now very healthy.

“Although a manager cannot be a friend to the players – that is a mistake – you have to have a good relationship with them, and they have to trust you,” he said. “The relationship with Gerrard is a good one because he is more mature and now he can see the big picture and he can see my points of view in a different way. I always try to understand the players but you have to be careful in how you treat them.

“You have to keep a bit of distance because it is part of the business now but, when I want to say something to the squad, I would maybe choose three or four players with a big influence and he is one of them.

“We are trying to keep the spine of the team here. Pepe Reina and Fernando Torres have long contracts, so there is no rush with them but we wanted to make sure that we kept Gerrard for a long time. It will be a very positive message to the players that we have his commitment.”

Dirk Kuyt, who said he would decide his position only when Benitez’s own future was clear, has also agreed a two-year extension that would see him through to 2012. However, Liverpool have not begun negotiations with Jamie Carragher because, at 31 and with more than two years of his contract to run, there appears little need for a longer-term deal now.

A win at Fulham today will see Liverpool return to the top of the table for at least 24 hours. However, since Javier Mascherano is flying directly to London after Argentina’s 6-1 humiliation at altitude in Bolivia, the midfielder may well be rested until the resumption of the annual Champions League soap opera with Chelsea.

As ever, Benitez concentrated on the small details. Fulham not Chelsea was the focus and he was still irked that Aston Villa had not been beaten by more than five goals to extend Liverpool’s lead over United on goal difference.

Yesterday a television reporter asked Benitez how he would cope with the pressures of the business end of the season that Alex Ferguson is said to have called “squeaky-bum time”.

Ferguson’s exact phrase, misreported at the time, was “squeeze-your-bum time” but none of this made any difference to Benitez. “I don’t know,” said the Liverpool manager with a shrug. “Because I don’t understand the meaning of ‘squeaky’.”

( Guardian Service)