Graphic: Liverpool v Marseilles

Rafael Benítez has stated his intention to cement his place alongside Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley, the legendary Anfield managers, over the next decade as he prepares to rewrite the club’s history books against Marseilles in the Champions League this evening.

Not only will Benítez surpass Shankly’s club record of 65 games in charge of Liverpool on the European stage, the 48-year-old will also equal Paisley’s club record of 39 European victories should his players secure the win at Anfield that will seal their passage into the first knockout round with one group game to spare.

The table may suggest that Liverpool’s penultimate game in group D is a routine exercise with the Merseyside club five points clear of Marseilles, but this is not a meaningless game for the Spaniard. “Hopefully I will still be here for the next 66 European games, then I will be really happy,” Benítez said. “I am really proud to be here because, when you talk about statistics or records, it means much more when you talk about the big sides.

“This is Bill Shankly and Liverpool, so it is massive and I am proud, but to get the record means also that the team is doing well in the Champions League. Maybe in the future, people will talk about this being a fantastic time here, but I don’t think about this every day. I just think about winning the next game. I am really proud of what has happened, but I want to achieve more if possible.”

Negotiations are continuing between Benítez’s representatives and George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks, Liverpool’s co-owners, about extending his contract, with the Spaniard excited about the club’s future.

With Liverpool level on points with Chelsea at the top of the Barclays Premier League and on the brink of qualifying for the knockout stage of the Champions League, Benítez found himself fending off questions about a European and domestic double yesterday. “If I am here in ten or 15 more years, it will be because we have been winning, so my idea is to create a team that can compete with everyone and win trophies every year,” Benítez, who is set to welcome back Steven Gerrard to the midfield after a groin injury, said. “Everybody knows the priority is the league, the Champions League and then the FA Cup.”

Fernando Torres, who has yet to score in the Champions League this season, has contributed to the feel-good factor sweeping through the club by stating his desire to help Liverpool to win the title for the first time since 1990. “It is fair to say the Premier League is in front of everything else for us,” the Spain striker said. “It is 18 years since Liverpool were last champions of England and the wait is enormous.”

But Ryan Babel, who is again set for a place on the bench against Marseilles, will not have endeared himself to Benítez after speaking of his frustration at failing to cement a regular first-team spot. “The rotation system is a thing of the past and I’m one of the victims,” the Holland forward told a Dutch magazine. “ ‘I must work hard and wait for my chance,’ is what you hear, but I’ve shown enough patience. I want to play. On the bench, nothing happens. But I don’t want to go. My contract runs until 2012. I don’t give up that easily.”

Bossing Europe - Liverpool managers’ European games (includes Super Cup):

65 Rafael Benítez (2004-present)
Won: one Champions League, one Super Cup

65 Bill Shankly (1959-74)
One Uefa Cup

61 Bob Paisley (1974-83)
Three European Cups, one Uefa Cup, one Super Cup

44 Gérard Houllier (1998-2001; 2002-04) — excluding five-month absence on health grounds
One Uefa Cup, one Super Cup

19 Joe Fagan (1983-85)
One European Cup

16 Roy Evans (1994-98)

12 Graeme Souness (1991-94)

8 Phil Thompson (2001-02)

4 Roy Evans and Houllier — joint (1998)