RAFAEL BENITEZ has admitted he is facing an uphill battle to overhaul Manchester United – because of their greater strength in depth.

But he is confident that the experience his players have gained from pushing the Old Trafford side all the way to the finishing line will prove a major boost in their bid to go one better next season.

The Liverpool manager is, however, still keen to improve his squad after they fell four points short of the Premier League champions following the first genuine title challenge of the Spaniard’s reign.

And although they beat United both home and away during the campaign, Benitez couldn’t help but cast an envious glance across at the reserves opposite number Sir Alex Ferguson had to call on during those encounters.

"We won against them twice this year and we’ve shown we can beat anyone. So clearly we have enough quality in the team," Benitez said.

"The squad is good but against us United had Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov on the bench.

"Each year is different but we are closer, we have more confidence, and the experience of this year will be good for next season.

"You never know but it seems like we are reducing the gap. We are going forward, we are progressing. For the future this is good news and hopefully this is the beginning of something important.

"In terms of the consistency of the team we’ve been really good. The squad is better, the mentality is very good and the players are competing for their positions."

Benitez, who marks his fifth anniversary in charge at Anfield today, is confident of retaining the key elements of the squad that landed the club’s highest points tally of the Premier League era.

He has insisted that Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso and Yossi Benayoun – who have all been the subject of interest form Spanish clubs already this summer – will not be sold.