Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has hit back at comments made by Kop legend Graeme Souness that the club are on the verge of "meltdown".

Having watched the Reds crash to a 2-1 defeat to Fiorentina in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, Souness, who managed the club in the early 1990s, explained his worries.

"I fear they are in meltdown. If they don't reach the Champions League next year the best players won't want to play for Liverpool," he told Sky Sports.

"That would be the first time in as long as I can remember. They are hundreds of millions of pounds in debt and they need a new stadium to keep up with the rest and just stand still."

But Benitez was unfazed by the Scot's comments as well as the remarks made by Jurgen Klinsmann, who was also critical of the Reds, who have won just three games out of their last 14 games in all competitions.

"I switch off the volume of Sky," Benitez joked to Sky Sports News. "I think they both have a fantastic record as a manager so the fans they know really well what they say.

"The club we have to win, we have a responsibility, we have to concentrate on our job and that's it. If someone talks too much then that's their problem but the fans know the records they have both as a manager is fantastic."

Do we hint a whiff of English sarcasm in the praise of both Souness and Klinsmann given the fact their recent managerial achievements are hardly anything to write home about? Maybe so.

Afterall, they do say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Sorry, Rafa just pointing out the 'fachts'.