By J Wade
January 29 2005

RAFAEL BENITEZ insisted the Carling Cup represented just the start of his Anfield trophy quest after taking Liverpool to Cardiff at the first attempt last night.

Steven Gerrard followed up his match-winning display in the semi-final first leg at Anfield with the only goal at Vicarage Road as Liverpool comfortably contained Watford to book their place at the Millennium Stadium on February 27.

Victory brought to an end a miserable run of three successive defeats that had brought Benitez the first serious criticism of his Anfield reign.

And while the cup final appearance vindicated Benitez's approach to the Carling Cup this season, the Liverpool manager insisted he would not be satisfied until the club is back in Premier-ship and Champions League contention.

Benitez said: "It is important to reach a final in your first year and we will go there to win. Whoever we play we can win the trophy. It is only one game so why not?

"But for me the most important thing is not a trophy in my first season but what we do over the next five years. When the board signed me last summer it was for five years and to win more than just the Carling Cup.

"I want to win all the trophies. I am not only thinking about this trophy and being in the top four this season, I want us to improve every day and win every trophy."Despite recent results the Liverpool manager believes he does have a squad capable of challenging at the top in the future.

"The board has made a great effort to bring Morientes to the club," he said.. "We have Morientes, Gerrard, Alonso, Hamann, Baros, Cisse. That is a lot of good players and a lot of quality and with a little bit more luck with injuries we would have done better.

"I do not feel there is more pressure on me here in England. The pressure was the same in Spain but it is easier for me to deal with it in England because I do not always understand the criticism!"

Benitez reserved special praise for Gerrard who, despite a niggling thigh strain, produced another influential display and goal to book Liverpool a third League Cup final appearance in five seasons.

He said: "He is a key player. When he plays well the team plays well. He is very important to us now and we want to build a strong team around him in the future. That is the idea.

"He has some fitness problems but that is not important now.

"We need to be careful with him but we want to play Gerrard in every game if possible. I have not been surprised by how good he is, I knew before I came here, but it is even better to watch him in training every day."

He added: "We did not feel under pressure before the game. But this is a good result for us, the club and the supporters. We played with a strong mentality and controlled the game throughout. Now we want to win the trophy for our fans."

The only bleak note for Benitez was a knee ligament injury sustained by Florent Sinama-Pongolle just minutes after coming on as a substitute. The young striker will undergo a scan on Merseyside today and, if Liverpool's worst fears of a cruciate injury are confirmed, his season will be over.

Gerrard said: "When you are drawn against a team lower it's a potential banana skin.

"We've coped well over the two legs but Watford have done well and, give them credit, they made it hard work for us.

"We've got a cup final to look forward to in front of 70,000 people at Cardiff.

"As a professional you want to play in as many finals as you can."