As the football season moves towards the critical New Year period there is growing pressure on Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez after a string of disastrous results has left the team isolated from the top of the Premier league. Despite the euphoria of a recent victory over Manchester United, Liverpool have now lost five games this season and the pressure is now on their manager who has spent millions of pounds over the last two years. So what next?

Liverpool owners

While there has been no official comment from the two Liverpool owners it is well known that after ploughing millions of pounds into the business and working hard to refinance the operation they are disappointed at the team's position and performance so far this season. Even though Fernando Torres is scoring goals freely there is a feeling that the team has been lost without influential captain Steven Gerrard.

With Gerard out for a couple of weeks at least with an injury there is a feeling that things may get worse before they get better which is placing more and more pressure on the owners of the club.

So what next?

It is widely known that Rafa Benitez has not always seen eye to eye with the Liverpool hierarchy and indeed he has been in the press on numerous occasions pushing for more money despite the fact that Liverpool have been amongst the top spenders for the last few years. If he had something to show for this investment then maybe the pressure would reduce but at this moment in time the club is struggling and the manager is under extreme pressure.

Will Liverpool change their manager?

It is unlikely we will see any change in the Liverpool managerial position in the short term because we have been here before over the past few years and ultimately the team has pulled it around. However, if the present run of form were to continue for some time there is no doubt we would see a change at the top of the club and Rafa Benitez moved on to pastures new. Would the vast majority of Liverpool fans really miss Rafa Benitez if he was not around?