London: The Spaniard has faced a hostile reception since his appointment at Stamford Bridge but insists his side are starting to show signs of improvement
Rafa Benitez admits he is not worried about the potential reception he`ll face from Chelsea fans following his side`s Club World Cup final defeat to Corinthians on Sunday.
Jose Paolo Guerrero`s second-half strike secured victory for the Brazilian side in Japan as Gary Cahill capped a miserable end to the tournament for Chelsea after he was sent off late on.
Benitez has faced a hostile welcome to his reign at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea fans displaying their objection to the Spaniard`s appointment during several Premier League games.
"I don`t think I am worried about what the reception of supporters will be back in England, we played a very good game against Monterrey and today we did well too," Benitez told reporters.
"It is still early, we need to improve day after day, and week after week, and win games.
"As we return we have Leeds and Villa, we will go back fighting for the next challenges. We`ll begin to prepare seeing who is available, we`ll study the opposition, see what we have to do.
"We must work on the positives and I have seen lot of positives here, we played against a good team, but still had plenty of chances, still we need to improve.
"There were five trophies now only four, but I saw a good game [against Monterrey] the other day good things today as well. But, sure, we must improve."
Benitez admits his side paid the price for failing to finish their chances against Corinthians but was buoyed by the number of opportunities Chelsea created.
"We knew it would have been a tough game, they are a good team, they created one chance, and scored. We did not take our chances, and that in the end made the difference," he said.
"They were physically strong, well organised, experience. They were wasting time, surrounding the ref, managing the game well. I don`t say that as a negative thing, I mean they were experienced, but we still could have won.
"We had four clear chances their goalkeeper was the man of the match. This means a lot for me, in a final you don`t often see so many clear chances. Fernando [Torres] was there when the chance came, his fitness is improving, he won balls in the air. I want to look at the positives.
"Other positives are the experience some players made by playing teams from other continents and by being in another continent, and Lampard back to fitness."
Goal.Com
First Published: Monday, December 17, 2012, 08:53