RAFAEL BENITEZ wouldn’t comment on his future last night. Instead, it was left to Liverpool’s players and supporters to do it for him.

Statements were made both on and off the pitch as a Steven Gerrard-inspired performance saw Coca-Cola League One strugglers Luton Town thrashed 5-0 in their FA Cup third round replay.

If this is the reaction it provokes, perhaps Liverpool should be linked with a new manager every week.

Benitez’s position has come under increased scrutiny after Anfield co-owner Tom Hicks confirmed reports last week that the club’s Americans owners had approached Jurgen Klinsmann with a view to replacing the Spaniard.

Benitez batted away questions on the revelation after the game, but the supporters inside Anfield weren’t so reticent in making public their thoughts.

“Liverpool Football Club, it’s in the wrong hands,” sang the Kop. And they weren’t talking about Benitez.

There were further chants of support for the manager throughout the game, while banners declaring “Thanks Yanks! More Friendly Fire” and “Dubai SOS – Yanks Out” stated in more eloquent terms the fans’ displeasure at the recent actions of Hicks and co-chairman George Gillett.

Watching the game on satellite television some 6,000 miles away, the American duo can’t have failed to note the depth of feeling from supporters.

Whether they pay attention to it is an entirely different matter, however. Last night’s events are unlikely to alter their grand plan, although victory relieved the immediate pressure on Benitez after a January that had lurched from one disappointment to another.

This convincing win ended a run of four successive draws and set up a less-than-imposing home fourth round tie against either Swansea City or non-league outfit Havant and Waterlooville on Saturday week.

Gerrard’s hat-trick – the second of the midfielder’s career and Liverpool’s first in the competition since a Stan Collymore treble against Rochdale in 1996 – was the highlight of a dominant home display that served to underline how poor the Anfield outfit had played in the original tie at Kenilworth Road.

Gerrard, who now has 15 goals in a productive season, missed that game but was named in the starting line-up last night along with Fernando Torres as Benitez took no chances.

From the very first whistle, Liverpool had a greater intensity and purpose than in recent weeks, determined to make amends for their embarrassment nine days earlier and turn the focus to events on the pitch rather than the boardroom.

The only surprise was that it took until the stroke of half-time to break down a stubborn Luton rearguard thanks to Ryan Babel’s excellent finish.

The plucky visitors, who had performed magnificently in the 1-1 draw between the clubs nine days ago, were ultimately overwhelmed as Liverpool belatedly exposed the chasm in quality between the teams.

At the end of that first meeting, Carragher was presented with a drink over his head from a loutish Luton supporter.

Before last night’s replay, however, the centre-back received a more welcome reward from Liverpool’s record appearance holder Ian Callaghan to mark his 500th outing for the club.

As well as being made skipper for a match for which his son James was mascot, the centre-back was greeted on to the pitch by a guard of honour formed by both teams.

Much has happened at cash-strapped Luton since they forced last night’s replay, although news of an agreement with a consortium led by television’s Nick Owen to take over the club was too late to prevent skipper Chris Coyne and midfielder David Edwards, who both played against Liverpool last week, being sold to balance the books.

Those deals were made without the permission of manager Kevin Blackwell, who is serving his notice after tendering his resignation in protest.

The resolve that has helped Luton through such troubled times was apparent in their play during the first half, as Liverpool dominated but struggled to find a way through a packed visiting defence.

Bodies were thrown in front of shots as if lives depended on it, with former Liverpool man Don Hutchison – employed as a makeshift centre-back in place of the injured Chris Perry – in particular outstanding.

Liverpool attacked from the first whistle. After Peter Crouch headed a deep Jermaine Pennant cross wide, Babel came close in the ninth minute when, after accepting a Gerrard pass, he cut in from the left on to his right foot and curled a shot around Luton goalkeeper Dean Brill that smacked the inside of the keeper’s left-hand post.

Torres wasted a decent opening by thrashing wildly over when played in by Alvaro Arbeloa, Babel saw a shot deflected wide and had an improvised effort clutched by Brill, while Hutchison hacked clear a dangerous Carragher cross.

Gerrard’s shot was blocked for a corner, Babel curled an effort over and the ubiquitous Hutchison got in the way of yet another Gerrard effort as Luton held firm.

In the end, it needed a tactical switch by Benitez for Liverpool to finally break through in first-half injury time.

After Gerrard won a header in midfield, Torres hared down on the Luton defence and slipped a ball wide to Babel who, having only seconds earlier been switched to the right flank, shot clinically across Brill into the bottom corner.

The floodgates open, Liverpool scored again seven minutes into the second half. A deep cross by Pennant was nodded back into the danger zone by Crouch and, after the ball bounced once, Gerrard arrived to head home.

Crouch then hit the post – literally – in pursuit of a loose ball after Luton right-back Keith Keane almost nodded into his own net before racing back to clear.

Crouch was left nursing a sore backside, but it could have been worse – he could have followed Phil Babb’s example 10 years earlier. Ouch.

Liverpool’s third came on 57 minutes, a corner by Gerrard headed in by Hyypia at the near post via a deflection off Luton skipper Matthew Spring.

Gerrard netted his second four minutes later, side-footing into the bottom corner from 20 yards after a Torres shot had deflected into his path.

And the midfielder completed a fine hat-trick on 71 minutes with a magnificent swerving shot from 30 yards that left Brill rooted to the spot.

It was a fitting end to an evening when Liverpool’s supporters made it clear whose side they are on.