THERE were many calls for changes at the top when Liverpool woefully crashed out of the FA Cup against Reading last week.

But a week is a long time in football – and now the shock of that exit has died down there are many reasons why Rafael Benitez should not be sacked as manager.

The man in charge of the team has to go when he reaches the stage where the players won’t play for him and he has, to coin the phrase ‘lost the dressing room’.

And the performance against Stoke proved that’s not happened.

The last place you would want to go when you’re under fire and have just been dumped out of the FA Cup by a Championship side is the Britannia. You just don’t need another physical battering when you’re already being counted out on the floor.

But Liverpool bounced back off the canvas. They obviously paid for the fact that they were missing their three most creative players and the lack of a cutting edge cost them in the end.

But they stood up and fought to the finish. It proved that the players responded to the manager and at the end the fans responded the way Liverpool fans do – they shook off their disappointment at the late equaliser to show the appreciation of the effort.

However, it’s not that I think Benitez will necessarily turn it round by winning the Europa League and finishing in the top four.

Even before the brief respite the performance at Stoke has given him, I just didn’t see the point of removing him.

His contract is very much tied to all aspects of the club now, like the academy.