Liverpool have moved to avert another civil war after Rafael Benítez, the manager, held clear-the-air talks with Rick Parry, the chief executive, in the wake of the acrimonious fallout from the Gareth Barry transfer saga.

With both parties keen to avoid a repeat of the infighting and backbiting that overshadowed the previous campaign, Benítez and Parry met at Anfield on Tuesday in an attempt to settle their differences after the pair’s already strained relationship took another turn for the worse last week when the proposed Barry deal hit the buffers.

“Clear-the-air talks have taken place,” Benítez said. “It was a positive discussion and we will now move forward together.” Parry struck an equally conciliatory note. “I can confirm that we had a friendly and positive meeting and we’re moving forward,” he said.

The charm offensive continued last night when Benítez, together with his wife, Montse, conducted an interview with Radio City, a Liverpool radio station, during which his softer side, rarely seen since he moved to Anfield in June 2004, was revealed.

Benítez may have considered resigning over Barry, but he was effusive in his praise of Liverpool’s supporters, while Montse revealed how her husband relaxes by watching English comedies such as Only Fools and Horses wearing a “scruffy old T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops”.

Perhaps more insightful, however, were her occasional pleas to Benítez not to be so hard on some of his players, such as Steven Gerrard, and the news that she broke down in tears amid the uncertainty over her husband’s future last year, when it emerged that Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the owners, had spoken to Jürgen Klinsmann, the former Germany coach who is now with Bayern Munich, about taking over at Anfield.

Benítez and Parry’s relationship would still appear to be unworkable in the long term, but both have accepted the need for a truce.

Benítez remains deeply frustrated by the club’s refusal to sanction the £18 million signing of Barry, to such an extent that he openly questioned the speed with which Liverpool complete deals at the weekend. Although Benítez initially held the chief executive responsible for Liverpool’s continued failure to sign Barry, the manager appears to have come to accept that the decision not to pursue the transfer at Villa’s £18 million valuation was taken at board level, with Hicks and Gillett arguing that the England midfield player was overpriced.

Benítez has not completely given up hope of signing Barry, but barring a dramatic change of heart from the owners or Xabi Alonso being sold, a deal remains highly unlikely, with the manager training his sights on Albert Riera, the Espanyol winger, and Stewart Downing, of Middlesbrough.

Alonso is hoping that Arsenal will follow up their interest in him after a falling out with Benítez last week, but the clubs remain some way apart on their valuations of the Spain midfield player.

The situation is complicated further by the terms of the deal that led to Alonso moving to Liverpool from Real Sociedad for £10.5 million in 2004, by which the Spanish club are entitled to a sell-on fee of €6 million (about £4.75 million) if the player is sold for €16 million or less.