Throughout his near four-year reign at Anfield, Rafael Benítez has given the impression of a man impervious to barbs, but as Liverpool gear up for a run of fixtures that could not only shape their season but the future of their manager, the Spaniard is relishing the prospect of proving his critics wrong.

While Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, Liverpool's American owners, have borne the brunt of the blame for the turmoil that has engulfed the club this season, Benítez was forced to withstand some strong criticism after the FA Cup fifth-round defeat by Barnsley last month. That loss was the culmination of a dreadful run of results, in which Liverpool won only one of seven Barclays Premier League games, and as the ownership of the club hung in the balance, so Benítez appeared to be standing on a precipice. Four weeks later and, from a results point of view at least, the outlook could not be more different.

Liverpool have won their past seven matches, securing a place in the Champions League quarter-finals at the expense of Inter Milan and recapturing fourth place in the league in the process, and as they prepare for a critical run of five matches over a gruelling 17-day period, Benítez's team could scarcely be in ruder health.

After a visit to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Sunday, Liverpool welcome Everton to Anfield a week later before three mouthwatering games in the space of seven days against Arsenal, who they play away and then at home in their Champions League quarter-final either side of a league match at the Emirates Stadium on April 5.

Benítez, though, is far from running scared and, if anything, out to prove a point. “We have a very tough spell,” he said. “We have five very hard games coming up and we needed these seven wins beforehand. How near we finish to the top [of the league] now will be interesting. We have been criticised this season, but let us see where we are in three or four weeks. Do we have a point to prove? Maybe, but only if we can keeping winning.”

Benítez believes that victory against United - which he has not managed in a league match during his tenure with Liverpool - could be vital as his team look to gather momentum going into such a decisive period of games.

Liverpool appeared to be in a straight fight with Everton for fourth place, but after a 2-1 win over Reading over the weekend coupled with their Merseyside rivals' defeat by Fulham, Benítez has set his sights on catching Chelsea in third.

“If we can beat United we will be closer to the top, and that will give us more confidence,” he said. “If we beat Everton after that, we will be closer still.”

Meanwhile, the likelihood of Hicks being forced to sell his stake in the club to Dubai International Capital (DIC) increased over the weekend as the Texan - whose co-ownership of Liverpool is highly leveraged - felt the pinch of the worsening credit crisis in the wake of the emergency bailout of Bear Stearns, the American investment bank, which is to be bought by JP Morgan, the financial services firm, for 6 per cent of its market value.

Publicly, Hicks maintains that he has no intention of selling his half-stake in the club, but DIC is thought to be confident that a deal can be struck with him and Gillett that would see the private equity investment arm of the Dubai government take over ownership at Anfield.