Martin O'Neill tops Liverpool shortlist as pressure mounts on Rafa Benitez Rafael Benitez last night launched a passionate defence of his Anfield regime as Martin O'Neill emerged as a serious contender to replace him. The Spanish coach, whose Liverpool side face a crunch Champions League tie against Inter Milan tonight, insists he is still best placed to deliver the title the club have waited almost 20 years to lift again. He said: "I understand why I am under pressure, but I have real confidence I will be here for a long time because I am the man to deliver titles for this club. "My commitment to this club is 100 per cent clear." Along with Villa boss O'Neill, jose moriniho and Frank Rikjaard are in the running as the question of the club's ownership is decided over the next few weeks. Whether it is Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett in charge, or Sheikh Mohammed's DIC investment group, the feeling is there will be a need for change unless the current boss offers evidence of progress. That now can only come through the Champions League. But Benitez reiterated it would be a mistake to replace him. He added: "Liverpool appoint managers expecting them to win the Premier League, but I can do that. I know where those improvements have to be made. "Look at Arsenal. They have won one cup in three years, but they are now in a position to win a title. It takes time. "We have improved the squad and the club and I can continue to do so. "Since I arrived we have been in seven finals and there is evidence of progress. OK, we have had setbacks this season, but that is the time you discover what is required to move forward." Hicks has insisted Benitez will stay in charge for at least the next two years left on his contract but, with DIC moving closer to a takeover, the Spanish coach finds himself under intense pressure. The Arabs have already taken soundings on who could replace Benitez and O'Neill has emerged as a real contender because of his ability to get the most out of his players and operate on limited budgets. Liverpool in meltdown It was supposed to be the American dream - a takeover of Liverpool that promised massive investment from two generous billionaires which would finally enable the great club to compete at the top again. Fast forward 12 months, and that dream is turning into something of a nightmare, with no end in sight to the lurid crisis that has gripped Anfield in recent months, culminating in confirmation yesterday that Rafael Benitez's job was casually offered to Jurgen Klinsmann. Such a revelation from owner Tom Hicks, which fatally undermines Benitez's position at the club, should be just about as bad as it gets at an institution better known for its dignity in the face of adversity down the years. But the Americans' relationship with their manager - and the implications of employing a lame duck boss over the next four months - are just about the least of the worries facing Hicks and his co-owner George Gillett. Liverpool are in a mess. In fact, prefix that with an expletive, and you begin to understand the sort of mess they are in. They are a club beset by financial concerns and political infighting, and one whose prospects look bleak for at least the next four to five years. When they bought Liverpool, Hicks and Gillett explained that they were very different from the Glazers at Manchester United, promising they would use their own money to finance the deal, and not borrow against the club. Depressingly, that promise has been broken, with the pair spending the last six months attempting to arrange finance that will ultimately put Liverpool in debt to the breathtaking tune of around £600million. Because of the global 'credit crunch' however, banks are nervous of lending money without security, and they have demanded that both Hicks and Gillett provide personal guarantees and letters of credit to cover the loans. Gillett has been either unwilling or unable to provide such guarantees, which has caused a major delay in finding the money, and led to speculation that the Americans would be forced to sell their stake. Hicks insisted yesterday that neither he nor his partner have any intention of selling - but he did reveal recently that the plan now is to borrow the money in two stages over the next 12 months. If they can appease the banks then they will borrow £300m to pay for the purchase of the club and other related costs, and get the 'new Anfield' stadium build underway. In a year's time, they will borrow another £300m to pay for the stadium. Such massive levels of borrowing means that the interest on the loan will be around £35-40m every year. Last year, Liverpool's operating profits were in the region of £30m, meaning the loan would be almost 20 times operating profits. In comparison, Manchester United's are eight times, and Arsenal's just four. Such financial talk is above the heads of many fans, but the bottom line for Liverpool is that at current levels, any profit will be wiped out completely by the interest on loans - which means there will be little or no money for transfers. The Americans plan to increase profits, but until the new stadium is built - which won't be until at least 2012 - their only real way of doing so will be to increase ticket prices dramatically, another Glazer route they promised not to follow. To this heady mix of financial worries must be added real problems in the relationship between the two Americans. There are clear indications that the pair simply no longer trust each other, and certainly, both appear to be briefing frantically against each other. Hicks was supposed to be the silent partner providing the financial muscle in the deal, with Gillett the dealmaker who handled the public relations. Now Hicks seems to have taken over, and Gillett to have disappeared. There is also disharmony within the Anfield boardroom, with former chairman David Moores and chief executive Rick Parry uneasy about the level of borrowing against the club, and the lack of financial progress that has been made. Which all leaves the situation with Benitez as a puzzling sideshow. In their current financial situation, Liverpool desperately require stability and guaranteed income. Benitez has not only qualified his team for the Champions League every season, but reached the final twice in three years, providing desperately required revenue. But there is a real danger now that by undermining him so badly, the effect on the team's morale will cost them a Champions League place this season, which would be an unmitigated disaster. By replacing him, the Americans are merely opening up the possibility of spending even more money they haven't got, because his successor would demand funds to get rid of Benitez's players and bring in his own. Logically, the Americans would be best served by backing a manager with a good track record, in the hope that he can get the best out of a squad that will not be added to in any significant way over the short to medium term. But logic has long flown out of the Anfield window. Benitez knows that his only chance of survival now is if the Americans sell before they can sack him. While that seems a remote prospect, it is not impossible. DIC, the investment arm of the Dubai government, lurks in the background, still interested in buying the club they believe they were cheated out of a year ago. Hicks revealed yesterday that in October, Liverpool were in talks to sell DIC a stake - but they stalled over the Americans' valuation of £1billion for a business they paid only £180m for just eight months previously. If borrowing costs get any higher, then the Americans could yet be forced to lower their valuation, and sell not just a stake, but the whole club to the Arabs. A mess it certainly is. Boxing - Joes the Man        Triumphant Joe Calzaghe last night dared American great Bernard   Hopkins to stop talking the talk and agree to a £10million superfight in  America next March.  Calzaghe cemented his claim to greatness by destroying Dane Mikkel   Kessler in Cardiff in the early hours of yesterday morning to become the undisputed world super-middleweight champion. Then he turned his attention to Hopkins and roared: "I'll go and fight him in his garden if that's what it takes." Hopkins has backed out of a fight with him once before but a few months ago publicly called on Calzaghe to face him in a New York showdown. "Bernard Hopkins should have a bit of balls for a change," Calzaghe said. "This time, let's hope he doesn't back out." Calzaghe's unanimous points victory in front of 50,000 fans at the Millennium Stadium gave the Welshman Kessler's WBA and WBC belts to go with his WBO title. After the fight, Calzaghe said he had nothing left to prove in his division and wanted to move up to light-heavyweight to face one-time middleweight colossus Hopkins, now 43. The clash, already being pencilled in for March either at Yankee Stadium or Madison Square Garden in New York, would earn Calzaghe about £5m, twice what he got for beating Kessler. Calzaghe said: "I've been 10 years a champ and won four belts, what else is there to do? All those guys, Roy Jones, Bernard Hopkins, let's do it...I just want big fights now." Radcliffe wins New York City Marathon Paula Radcliffe made a triumphant return to marathon racing and Martin Lel reprised his thrilling London victory to win at Sunday's New York City Marathon. Britain's world record holder Radcliffe, running her first marathon in two years after taking a maternity break and recuperating from injury, beat Gete Wami after a race-long duel with a time of two hours, 23 minutes, nine seconds. "I love this. I really enjoyed being back, full stop, and racing marathons," said Radcliffe, who gave birth to her first child, daughter Isla, in January. Radcliffe and Wami, rivals for 15 years on the track, in cross-country and on the roads, waged a two-woman race from the second mile on as they left the other elite runners behind. Wami ran behind Radcliffe, nudging past for less than 10 seconds in the final stages before the Briton surged head in the final few hundred metres in Central Park. There was some consolation for Ethiopian Wami, whose runner-up finish clinched her a $500,000 prize for winning the women's World Marathon Majors title based on points accumulated in top marathons over the last two years. In contrast to Radcliffe, Wami was running her second marathon in 35 days following her win in Berlin in order to stay ahead of twice-defending New York champion Jelena Prokopcuka in the World Marathon Majors standings. "Running a marathon in 35 days and coming in second, I feel was quite an achievement for me," Wami, who finished 23 seconds behind Radcliffe, said through an interpreter. "When Paula made the move, I found it difficult to catch up to her. I was feeling some stomach ache." Prokopcuka, trying to become the first woman to win three in a row in New York since nine-times winner Grete Waitz in 1986, finished third in 2:26:13. The Latvian needed to finish ahead of Wami and in at least third place to overtake the Ethiopian in the standings. In the men's race, Lel of Kenya pulled away from Moroccan Abderrahim Goumri in the last few hundred metres heading into Central Park for victory in 2:09:04. Lel, the 2003 New York winner who outsprinted Goumri to win by three seconds in London earlier this year, was 12 ahead of the Moroccan on Sunday. "There are many ways of killing a rat," Lel said about his tactics. "I can say that (Hendrick) Ramaala and Goumri really gave me a hard time." Goumri was shoulder to shoulder with the Kenyan as they headed for the Central Park finish but could not match his final kick. Ramaala of South Africa, the 2004 champion, finished third in 2:11:25. Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya, who won the Boston Marathon twice in addition to the 2006 Chicago race during this two-year period, had already wrapped up the first men's World Marathon Majors crown to claim the $500,000 (239, 367 pounds) jackpot. Rose wins order of merit and Volvo Masters SOTOGRANDE, Spain (Reuters) - Justin Rose rubber-stamped his European money list victory by winning a three-way playoff for the Volvo Masters title on Sunday. Rose claimed the 2007 order of merit by making the playoff against compatriot Simon Dyson and Dane Soren Kjeldsen, which he then won with a birdie at the second extra hole. Alonso out at McLaren Lewis Hamilton could be teamed up with big pal Nico Rosberg after Fernando Alonso was kicked out of McLaren yesterday. The hunt for the remarkable 22-year-old's team-mate started yesterday after the double world champion's sour 12-month relationship with his team ended on a typically poor note after news of his departure leaked out in Spain a day early. But McLaren kept their part of the bargain as the official statements yesterday confirmed the best, and the most vitriolic, pairing in Grand Prix racing was over. After handing over the email evidence in August that led to McLaren's £50million fine in the Ferrari-gate saga, it was always a case of when Alonso would leave, not if. In time-honoured Grand Prix fashion, the parting was sealed with conciliatory words neither had the time for during the mid-season mud-slinging match. But the split is the best thing that has happened to the two sides since Alonso's surprise signing a year ago. "Since I was a boy I had always wanted to drive for McLaren but sometimes in life things do not work out," said Alonso. "I continue to believe that McLaren are a great team. "Yes, we have had our ups and downs during the season, which has made it extra challenging for all of us, and it is not a secret that I never really felt at home. "I know there have been suggestions of favouritism within the team and people say a lot of things in the heat of battle but in the end I was always provided with an equal opportunity to win. Today's decision allows all of us to focus on 2008." McLaren boss Ron Dennis echoed that, saying: "He is a great driver but for some reason the combination has not really worked out and in the end we reached a stage where none of us could find a way to move forward." Now McLaren face several thorny issues. Their desire to get rid of Alonso is only matched by a determination not to have him racing against them in a competitive car. But who is prepared to take on Hamilton in his own team? And who can afford the troublesome Spaniard? Alonso wants a one-season deal as he is already being lined up by Ferrari for 2009. His most likely destination remains Renault, where he won world titles in 2005 and 2006. His current jockeying is a bid to push his asking price higher than the £12m on the table. Dennis is said to be proposing a direct swap, with Alonso trading places with Rosberg, 22, the German-born son of 1982 world champion Keke. It is an option that appeals to Hamilton, who has known Rosberg since they were team-mates in karting. The pair holidayed in Koh Samui in March. Jenson Button is an option for an all-British super team but he is in a longterm Honda deal.