• Liverpool manager could not hide disappointment after 1-0 loss
• ‘We have to keep going for fourth place,’ said Benítez

Rafael Benítez cut a dejected figure as Liverpool’s Champions League ambitions suffered a serious setback with a 1-0 defeat at Wigan Athletic last night, though he mustered enough venom to condemn his players for the attitude and lack of character they displayed at the DW Stadium. “We didn’t show the right attitude and even though we worked harder in the second half, we played without game intelligence,” complained the Liverpool manager.

Wigan’s first ever league win over Liverpool has left the Anfield club in a precarious position. Hugo Rodallega’s first-half goal gave Roberto Martínez’s side a major fillip in their bid to avoid relegation, but Wigan’s emotions were in stark contrast to Benítez.

The Liverpool manager added: “We didn’t do anything in the first half. The attitude was much better in the second half but it wasn’t enough. It is difficult to explain because we prepared for the game properly. We knew Wigan would play in this way but there were too many things from us that I cannot understand.”

Liverpool had five players booked on the night and Steven Gerrard was pictured raising two fingers after he was shown a yellow card for a foul on the impressive 19-year-old, James McCarthy. Liverpool later denied the gesture was intended to be offensive or was directed at the match referee, Andre Marriner.

“We have to keep going for fourth place,” added Benítez, who had described this fixture as a must-win before kick-off. “That is all we can do. You can have good and bad times but we had to do better tonight on what was a crucial moment.”

LiverpoolRafael BenítezWigan AthleticPremier LeagueAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk

• Sam Allardyce says Benítez sent DVD to referees chief
• Disc alleged to have documented Spaniard’s grievances

Sam Allardyce has rekindled his feud with Rafael Benítez by accusing the Liverpool manager of sending a DVD to the referees’ chief Keith Hackett in protest at his rival’s methods with Blackburn Rovers.

There has been no love lost between the managers since Allardyce, then in charge of Bolton Wanderers, inflicted the first league defeat of Benítez’s Anfield tenure in August 2004 and prompted the first in a series of complaints about his perceived direct, physical approach. The animosity deepened last season when Allardyce and Sir Alex Ferguson accused Benítez of showing contempt for Blackburn with an alleged dismissive gesture during Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Rovers at Anfield.

And their manager has continued his criticism of Benítez ahead of Rovers’ return to Liverpool tomorrow. Allardyce said: “I have no worries about what he thinks of me or my team. The most important thing to me is we can beat them on any given date and we know we can beat them because I did it at the Reebok.

“Because he didn’t like it he found an excuse about how we played. [Arséne] Wenger did it, [José] Mourinho did it; they all do it when they get their backside smacked. That will get him moaning about me again but I am not bothered. He even went as far as putting a DVD together and sending it to Keith Hackett. He doesn’t know I know that, but I do. I got on to Keith Hackett and told him I didn’t want it to influence what refs do because it is all a load of rubbish. He had a bee in his bonnet for a while.”

Ferguson and Allardyce claimed Benítez dismissed Blackburn with a hand gesture after Liverpool’s second goal last April, even though the Rovers manager did not witness anything at the time and everyone else inside Anfield that day suspected it was aimed at Xabi Alonso for taking a quick free-kick against his manager’s instruction.

But Allardyce said: “I won’t get an explanation for that. He is his own man and he does things his own way. I didn’t particularly like it. We were finished then because they got the second goal. They were terrific that day. Based on how well they finished last year I am very surprised they have gone through the turmoil they have in the past few months.”

Sam AllardyceBlackburn RoversRafael BenítezLiverpoolPremier LeagueRefereesAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk