NEVER mind Monday mornings, it’s Monday evenings that are giving Rafael Benitez a headache.

Liverpool’s dismal record on the first working day of the week plumbed new depths with the defeat at Wigan Athletic seven days ago.

It continued their remarkable record of having not won on a Monday since Benitez assumed charge almost six years ago.

But any repeat against rock-bottom Portsmouth at Anfield tonight is unthinkable as Liverpool desperately attempt to fight their way back into the top four and Champions League qualification places.

With the dismal loss at the DW Stadium followed three days later by another 1-0 setback in Lille, Benitez’s side are beginning a pivotal week in their campaign.

The return leg against the French side is on Thursday, before Liverpool visit championship-chasing Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.

Daniel Agger, though, admits the Anfield outfit cannot afford to look at any further ahead than tonight’s match.

“Against Portsmouth on Monday night the performance doesn’t matter as much as getting the three points,” says the centre-back. “We need to get some victories quickly and move on to get ourselves up the table.

“Every week we say this is a big week. Last week people said it was a defining week as well.

“’We need to focus on the next game first, not the games after that. It’s as straightforward as that.”

Liverpool currently stand in sixth place, four points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

They are also two points behind Manchester City and two ahead of Aston Villa, although both teams have two games in hand.

And while accepting Liverpool have only themselves to blame for their current predicament, Agger isn’t even contemplating failure to finish in the top four.

“We can’t slip up any more because it’s getting to the end of the season and we know we need more points,” says the Denmark international.

“I can’t imagine not being in the Champions League. That’s the tournament we all want to be in. But it’s our own fault where we are now and we have to get out of it.

“The fans have a right to expect Liverpool to be in the top four. A big club like Liverpool you should be in there every year, but as we know football doesn’t always work like that.

“The pressure of that shouldn’t come into it. When you come to a club like this there will always be pressure to be successful.