It probably goes without saying where a manager is concerned, but when Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, said he hates losing, he meant it. Yesterday he joked about being admonished by his wife for refusing to let his two young daughters win games when he played with them, bringing to mind Competitive Dad, the Fast Show character, who took great joy in humiliating his sons on the sports field before regaling their mother with tales of his prowess.

As he faced up to another evening of reckoning in the Champions League, though, Benítez for once dared to contemplate defeat. Elimination by Arsenal at Anfield this evening, after a creditable 1-1 draw in the quarter-final, first leg at the Emirates Stadium last Wednesday, would again raise questions about the Liverpool manager's regime. Benítez feels those questions are unwarranted.

As with any self-respecting bad loser, he has already decided he cannot lose, whatever the result - much like José Mourinho after a draw and defeat at Anfield in this competition, you might say.

“Really, when you are in this position , it means that something is good,” Benítez said. “It doesn't depend on one game - whether you are doing things good or bad. We know because we are here, we are not bad.

“We know we need to be more consistent in the Premier League, but the team now is fit. I am not the kind of manager who will change my opinion for one game. As a manager you must be consistent. I think we are going in the right direction, so one game will not change my idea.”

It could feasibly, though, change the ideas of those who inhabit, or hope to inhabit, the Anfield boardroom. The ownership situation at Liverpool - with Tom Hicks attempting to buy out George Gillett Jr, his co-owner, who in turn wants to sell to Dubai International Capital, who wish to buy out Hicks - is so complex that Benítez cannot predict with any certainty that he will be in charge next season, but the notion that his fate could hinge on 90 minutes against Arsenal tonight is anathema to a man who, like Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has been trying to build for the long-term future.

“It's not easy to talk about the Champions League and what that means in terms of money for the big picture,” Benítez said. “But at least the professionals will need to know it's not one game that determines the idea and the future. We want to win, but not because we need to prove we are doing the right thing. It's clear we are moving in the right direction: the reserve team is winning the league, we have a lot of good young players coming in and, with players like Ryan Babel, Lucas Leiva, [Javier] Mascherano, [Daniel] Agger and [Martin] Skrtel, that is clear.

“If you win, everyone will say: 'Oh, fantastic, this is the right way' and if you lose they will say: 'It's not the right way,' but I think everyone knows we are going in the right direction.”

Xabi Alonso, who has not always seen eye to eye with Benítez this season, agreed, despite frustration at Liverpool's failure to challenge for the Premier League. “We can't be happy with what we've been doing in the league, which is something we want to correct,” the midfield player said. “But in the Champions League it could hardly have gone better than in the past few seasons and this season. I don't think you can say we're favourites, because the tie is quite balanced, but we feel confident.”

Their confidence is based partly on second-leg victories against Chelsea in 2005 and 2007, when what was then Mourinho's team were vanquished against a backdrop of fervour from the Kop. The “12th man” barely cropped up yesterday - a sign, perhaps, of growing confidence among Benítez and his players.