Former Liverpool star Xabi Alonso has backed under-fire Reds manager Rafa Benitez to turn things around at Anfield, insisting 'he is the right man for the club'.

Alonso enjoyed five years at Liverpool before sealing a £30million switch to Real Madrid in the summer, and admits he feels for his former team-mates as they seem to lurch from one crisis to the next at present.

Benitez has come under a barrage of crticisim after seeing his side drop out of the race for the Premier League title and on the brink of an early exit from the UEFA Champions League.

A run of just one win in eight games - the club's worst sequence of results in 56 years - has led many pundits to claim the departure of Alonso is one of the main reasons for Liverpool's struggles this season.

However, the 27-year-old midfield meastro has called on the club to keep faith in Benitez to sort out their problems, as he believes it would be the wrong move to sack the former Valenica boss.

"It's not the Liverpool way to sack a manager after a few bad results early in the season," Alonso told The Times.

"He is the right man for the club. It wouldn't be a good decision to change the manager. He's a great manager.

"I still have great respect for him. I'm very grateful to him for the five great years I had at Liverpool.

"Of course the situation isn't the best right now, but he knows how to turn it around."