Rafa Benitez has again refused to commit his future to Liverpool amid mounting speculation that his days in the Anfield hotseat are numbered.

Benitez watched his side suffer a 2-0 home defeat by Chelsea on Sunday to finally extinguish any lingering hopes they had of achieving the fourth-place finish which was 'guaranteed' by the Spaniard earlier in the season.

The Reds have endured a dismal campaign by their own high standards, with Thursday's Europa League semi-final exit at the hands of Atletico Madrid cutting off their final route to possible silverware in the continent's second-tier competition.

Benitez, who has completed just 12 months of the five-year deal he signed in 2009, has been strongly linked with a move to Juventus this summer.

Finish

But the former Valencia boss has consistently evaded questions over his future and again passed up the opportunity when asked after the Blues defeat if he would still be at Anfield next season.

"Now we have to talk about the game, it is better than to be talking about the speculation," he told Sky Sports.

"I understand really well [fans' concerns over his future], but the speculation is something we cannot control. So we have to talk about the games, the football and what happened today on the pitch."

And when pressed again, he responded: "Don't carry on, don't carry on. Finish."

The clash with Chelsea turned on an error by captain Steven Gerrard in the 33rd minute when his attempted backpass to Jose Reina was seized upon by Didier Drogba to slot home, with Frank Lampard adding a second after the break.

Not the best

Benitez admitted the blunder was the turning point in the clash and was prepared to accept that Liverpool's season has not reached the levels they would expect.

He said: "These things can happen in football. It is a pity because we were more or less in control. It changed the game and it changed the result at the end.

"It is not the best, that is clear. We were expecting to be higher in the table, we have had too many problems.

"I have shown my commitment with the fans and the club in the past and this year. We still have one game to play so we will try and be ready for this game.

"I have four years on my contract and we have to carry on."

SKY