Benitez has become embroiled in a debate over just how much Tom Hicks and George Gillett have been consulting him over the club's long-term future.

There was even an intimation this week that he wanted to talk to them, and quickly, having not spoken at length to the US sports moguls since the very first days of the takeover process.

That message quickly reached its target and Benitez revealed there have been e-mails exchanged since.

But what is clear is that the man who is once again a target for Real Madrid wants much more of a say in what happens to the Merseysiders once their £470million takeover is completed.

Benitez has also backed the move to change the plans for the club's new stadium to make it even bigger, and said: "I would like to talk to the new owners, to talk about every aspect.

"But if we are to improve then we have to move faster.

"As the manager, my hope was to take the same atmosphere from Anfield to the new stadium. That is what I want.

"If that meant a stadium with the same atmosphere and 50,000 or 60,000 inside, that would be perfect. But if we can get another 20,000 in that would be even better.

"The bigger the crowd the bigger the atmosphere. If we can add another 20,000 that is fine.

"When you buy a club and have a manager and people who know the structure of the club, then you have to talk with those people and know what they want. We have experience in football and they are decent men and clever enough to know that."

Speaking ahead of Sunday's trip to Aston Villa, Benitez added: "The meeting I had before with them showed they were interested in every aspect of this club, they have a clear idea of what to do.

"If you invest big money in a club then you will want to improve all areas.

"It is important for the new owners and me to talk. When you spend what they have done, you need to know the people already there and their ideas.

"We need to improve in some areas, and that is what we will talk about.

"We have talked of a 60,000 capacity stadium, but if that could be 70,000 or more than would mean more Liverpool supporters inside and a better atmosphere.

"That brings more possibilities for the club in terms of revenue and money. I do not decide these things, but for me it would be good for the club, for me and for our supporters.

"We cannot spend £50-100million each year to buy players to improve the team. We need to prepare a big club to gain more money from every area, because we are a top side in the Champions League."

Hicks and Gillett may not have had too many coaches of their baseball and ice hockey teams laying down the law about the future, but they would be wise to listen to Benitez, who has already won two European trophies in the last few years.

The takeover dealings are now hanging over the club as they try to make sure they do not let a top-four finish slip away.

Benitez added: "We have a priority now to finish in the top four and to make sure we are back in the Champions League.

"Arsenal have overtaken us and Bolton are close behind, so we must not allow games to go by without us winning.

"We must not forget that two seasons ago when we won the Champions League, we lost games at the end of the season and finished fifth. We cannot allow that to happen again, we must make sure we finish in the top four."

Benitez accepts that it will be tough at Villa Park in his first meeting with manager Martin O'Neill. Benitez said: "He has a very different Villa side now to when he arrived, they have strength and pace.

"He is a very experienced manager, a good manager, and we must not take Villa lightly in any way."