The mention of senior players and responsibility remains a sensitive issue around Anfield but the response of every ÂLiverpool player to his clarion call surely enriched the precious victory over Tottenham Hotspur for Rafael BenÃtez.
It was a night when the maligned received rapturous ovations from the Liverpool faithful, Philipp Degen, Sotirios Kyrgiakos and, on recent evidence, Dirk Kuyt chief among them, while others strengthened the manager's conviction that his team must and can improve. Into that category falls Alberto Aquilani.
Liverpool's £20m summer signing from Roma made only his third Premier League start on Wednesday and was indicative of the transformation between the FA Cup exit to Reading and the spirited shift that defeated Harry Redknapp's brittle side on the same ground one week later.
Injury and BenÃtez's subsequent protection policy have taken a toll on the initial enthusiasm that follows any big-money capture, and Aquilani accepts he is a long way from meeting the standard required. Tottenham, however, may well have represented a breakthrough.
The Italy international admitted: "I knew that I wouldn't be able to play straight away because of the ankle injury I had when I signed. Ideally, I would have been able to start playing in a team that was winning matches. Instead, by the time I was fit to play, the team was going through a difficult period, so the Âtransition has been a lot harder.
"That's football and the risks are the same with any move. But as a foreign player, moving to a new country in a new league with different team-mates, it would have been easier for me if I was starting my Liverpool career in a winning team. It hasn't been that way, so the pressure has been on me to produce performances straight away. When I have played, though, I know I can do a lot, lot better."
With Fernando Torres, Steven ÂGerrard and Yossi Benayoun sidelined, and in the wake of the Reading defeat, there were fewer allowances for Aquilani in what BenÃtez had declared was a "make or break" game against Tottenham. And, despite doubts over his physical condition prompting a return to the substitutes bench at Stoke City last Saturday, the midfielder is adamant he can have a major role in Liverpool's pursuit of fourth place this season.
Aquilani added: "Some people may think that I will find the pace of the game in the Premier League very quick. I understand that some great players who have done well in Serie A have come here in the past and struggled. At the moment, I am regaining my fitness after a long time away from football.
"It will take me a while to get to a level I am happy with and I don't think I'm that far away. The manager has explained to me in detail what he wants me to do for the team. When every player is fit, including me, I think it will bring the best from me and the best from the 11 players we have out on the pitch."
The importance of the occasion was lost on no one inside Anfield, with Redknapp conceding his team had missed "a great opportunity" in the race for a Champions League place irrespective of complaints over Jermain Defoe's disallowed goal early in the second half. BenÃtez's post-match message that Tottenham, Manchester City and Aston Villa must accept they have Liverpool for company in their Âprivate Âcompetition for fourth was, as with his pre-match warning, seized upon by his players.
As Degen noted: "It was an important victory for everyone at the club; the Âplayers, the staff, the manager and the fans. ÂEveryone knows that we can close down fourth place. We all did well, worked hard and that was the least we could do.
"Everyone knows that we haven't played well this season but the team is closer now, we are working hard and we want to make sure we give the fans some success. Every player knows what we are fighting for and we aren't going to give fourth place away."
Wednesday marked the highlight of a disappointing Liverpool career so far for the Swiss full-back, who was among those up for sale this month until injuries offered opportunity as an unorthodox midfielder.
"I am a footballer with heart and I live to play football," said Degen. "All the time I was out I kept believing that I could come back. I wanted to fight to show that I could play here and I think everyone knows that I don't give up. It doesn't matter what has happened in the past. I just had to wait for my chance to give my best. I hope I have done that now."
It was a night when the maligned received rapturous ovations from the Liverpool faithful, Philipp Degen, Sotirios Kyrgiakos and, on recent evidence, Dirk Kuyt chief among them, while others strengthened the manager's conviction that his team must and can improve. Into that category falls Alberto Aquilani.
Liverpool's £20m summer signing from Roma made only his third Premier League start on Wednesday and was indicative of the transformation between the FA Cup exit to Reading and the spirited shift that defeated Harry Redknapp's brittle side on the same ground one week later.
Injury and BenÃtez's subsequent protection policy have taken a toll on the initial enthusiasm that follows any big-money capture, and Aquilani accepts he is a long way from meeting the standard required. Tottenham, however, may well have represented a breakthrough.
The Italy international admitted: "I knew that I wouldn't be able to play straight away because of the ankle injury I had when I signed. Ideally, I would have been able to start playing in a team that was winning matches. Instead, by the time I was fit to play, the team was going through a difficult period, so the Âtransition has been a lot harder.
"That's football and the risks are the same with any move. But as a foreign player, moving to a new country in a new league with different team-mates, it would have been easier for me if I was starting my Liverpool career in a winning team. It hasn't been that way, so the pressure has been on me to produce performances straight away. When I have played, though, I know I can do a lot, lot better."
With Fernando Torres, Steven ÂGerrard and Yossi Benayoun sidelined, and in the wake of the Reading defeat, there were fewer allowances for Aquilani in what BenÃtez had declared was a "make or break" game against Tottenham. And, despite doubts over his physical condition prompting a return to the substitutes bench at Stoke City last Saturday, the midfielder is adamant he can have a major role in Liverpool's pursuit of fourth place this season.
Aquilani added: "Some people may think that I will find the pace of the game in the Premier League very quick. I understand that some great players who have done well in Serie A have come here in the past and struggled. At the moment, I am regaining my fitness after a long time away from football.
"It will take me a while to get to a level I am happy with and I don't think I'm that far away. The manager has explained to me in detail what he wants me to do for the team. When every player is fit, including me, I think it will bring the best from me and the best from the 11 players we have out on the pitch."
The importance of the occasion was lost on no one inside Anfield, with Redknapp conceding his team had missed "a great opportunity" in the race for a Champions League place irrespective of complaints over Jermain Defoe's disallowed goal early in the second half. BenÃtez's post-match message that Tottenham, Manchester City and Aston Villa must accept they have Liverpool for company in their Âprivate Âcompetition for fourth was, as with his pre-match warning, seized upon by his players.
As Degen noted: "It was an important victory for everyone at the club; the Âplayers, the staff, the manager and the fans. ÂEveryone knows that we can close down fourth place. We all did well, worked hard and that was the least we could do.
"Everyone knows that we haven't played well this season but the team is closer now, we are working hard and we want to make sure we give the fans some success. Every player knows what we are fighting for and we aren't going to give fourth place away."
Wednesday marked the highlight of a disappointing Liverpool career so far for the Swiss full-back, who was among those up for sale this month until injuries offered opportunity as an unorthodox midfielder.
"I am a footballer with heart and I live to play football," said Degen. "All the time I was out I kept believing that I could come back. I wanted to fight to show that I could play here and I think everyone knows that I don't give up. It doesn't matter what has happened in the past. I just had to wait for my chance to give my best. I hope I have done that now."
