Of course, that the focus was solely on Hyypia yesterday was down to Liverpool falling just short in providing the Finn with the one medal missing from his collection; the championship.

Liverpool’s final tally of 86 points was their highest total of the Premier League era and would have been enough to have won 12 of their 18 league titles, based on three points for a win.

That it didn’t underlines the size of the task Benitez faces this summer in giving his squad that all-important final push beyond champions Manchester United.

Although Liverpool’s title challenge floundered on a number of damaging home draws during the winter months, it was the first time since 1987-88 they had remained unbeaten at Anfield throughout an entire league campaign.

Indeed, Benitez’s side have now gone 30 home league games without defeat, their best record for 28 years.

Liverpool lost only five of 55 games in all competition during the entire season, two of which were against Tottenham.

Benitez still probably can’t believe how his side lost the league game at White Hart Lane, but the largely second string’s Carling Cup defeat there a few weeks later begged the question of whether the squad had sufficient strength in depth to win the title.

Ultimately, those doubts were justified. Benitez may rightly believe the first-choice starting line-up needs only fine-tuning during the forthcoming summer transfer window, but scratch beneath that surface and there remain areas with significant room for improvement.

Liverpool find themselves in the same position as in 2002 when they finished Premier League runners-up. Around £30m of new talent subsequently arrived with the purpose of giving the team that final lift; we all know what happened next.

There’s no doubt this will be a hugely important summer for Benitez, but it’s worth noting that this season’s impressive run-in has been forged largely by players who have now been at the club at least 18 months.