By Mighty Reds
September 8 2005

Rafael Benitez today backed his angry striker, Djibril Cisse, to unleash his frustration at transfer speculation on the Premiership. The striker, who has been the subject of transfer speculation for most of the summer, is believed to be okay after a slight injury was thought to have kept him out of the French team, but he came on for the last 15 minutes.

Fernando Morientes though, could be out for up to 4 weeks after gaining an injury on International duty with Spain.

Rafa said:

"The most important thing when the transfer window is closed is the players know they are staying," said Benitez..
"Cisse knows he can show everyone how good he is. He will do that by scoring goals, working hard and playing well. Cisse knows what I want from him and I don't have any problem with him.
"As a manager, I just want to see my players scoring goals. I like players being angry when they're not playing. If he's angry, it's good for the team. At the same time, I want a player to have respect for his team-mates.
"I will talk with all the players when they come back, not just Cisse. I know he scored two goals the other day, so if he's playing with some anger, that can be positive."
"I have heard some information he will be out for three or four weeks, but we will find out more when he returns today," said Benitez.