Not when they are seventh in the Premier League and on the verge of exiting the Champions League.

With one point from three Champions League games, the Reds are rock-bottom in Group A.

Even if they beat Besiktas today, qualification for the knockout stages is not guaranteed for Rafael Benitez's misfiring team.

For that to happen, they will have to win their remaining games against Marseille and Porto, and Marseille will have to draw at least one of their matches.

It is getting too much for their fans to bear, as their bland football lacks Arsenal's wit and Manchester United's grit.

And there is little evidence that the team can paddle out of their plight.

As former Liverpool skipper Alan Hansen pointed out in The Telegraph: 'Mentally, Liverpool will have to endure much more than their rivals because every game now is on a knife-edge, which multiplies the pressure by 10.

'Although the green shoots of recovery were visible against Arsenal and Blackburn, Liverpool have lost the impetus that threatened to sweep them through the first half of the season, partly through the policy of constant rotation, rotation, rotation.'

Liverpool have found themselves in this pickle largely because of Benitez's rotation policy, but there is nothing that can persuade the Spaniard to change his tack.

In the name of keeping legs fresh, the manager has chopped and changed his line-up.

He also does not name his team until the morning of the game, which adds to the frustration of some players.

Dirk Kuyt has gone from penalty hero against Everton to a handyman in attack.

He played on the right against Arsenal and was marooned up front against Blackburn, with the two holding midfielders offering little support.

Benitez is persisting with Mohamed Sissoko, even though the midfielder is struggling to conjure simple square passes.

With Xabi Alonso injured, the Reds' engine room is in disarray - with Sissoko returning possession as soon as he wins it.

And the boss is not any closer to solving the great Steven Gerrard tactical conundrum.

The captain has been played in different midfield positions - central, advanced and right - without hitting top gear.

Despite a summer spending spree, the quality of Benitez's squad has been exposed by three key injuries.

Daniel Agger, Alonso and Fernando Torres have left gaping holes in the spine.

How Liverpool need Agger's extra spurt of pace at the back, Alonso's vision and craft in the middle and Torres' punch up front.

While the likes of Theo Walcott, Louis Saha and Salomon Kalou have come off the bench to make a difference for Arsenal, United and Chelsea respectively, Benitez does not seem to have any aces left in his deck.

Except for Peter Crouch.

Used just 148 minutes in the Premier League this season, one wonders what the lanky striker has done to offend his manager.

Crouch's three full games came in the two Champions League encounters against Toulouse and the League Cup match against Cardiff.

His Premier League campaign has been limited to four substitute appearances and a 62-minute show against Portsmouth.

He was on the bench against Blackburn only because Andriy Voronin's wife had given birth that day.

When he finally came on with 18 minutes remaining, Crouch was involved in five scoring chances as he sparked Liverpool into life.

When he scored against Toulouse, it was his eighth strike in his last 10 Champions League games.

Whatever differences the two men may have off the pitch, it is high time for Benitez to field the player described by British commentator Peter Drury as a 'rampaging super-spider'.

The evidence is piling up against Benitez, who prefers boasting selected statistics.

He insists the team have fired 154 shots in the Premier League, more than Arsenal (150) and Chelsea (152) and bettered only by United (174).

But that does not hide the ugly truth that the Reds have a shot accuracy rate of just 40 per cent, even worse than strugglers Sunderland (45 per cent), Bolton (45 per cent) and Fulham (50 per cent).

Benitez badly needs a wake-up call, beginning with his Mission Impossible in Europe.

The looming Champions League exit will confirm that he and his rotation policy are flops.

meng@sph.com.sg

Liverpool v Besiktas
Live, Ch23, tomorrow, 3.30am