The Reds haven't won a domestic league title for 19 years and despite currently topping the table with only one defeat in 16 games – their best ever start to a Premier League season – Benitez thinks that they are still relying on their title rivals to slip up.
“For us to win the league we need Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal to mess up and it is rare that three teams all mess up," said the Spaniard.
“So there's no point in waiting for our direct adversaries to slip up because it won't happen.”
The former Valencia boss also drew comparisons between his two title wins with Los Che and the current campaign with Liverpool.
“For me, Valencia and Liverpool are similar - for them to win, the bigger clubs have to do badly.
"When I won La Liga with Valencia that's what happened: Real Madrid and Barcelona were in transition, so it was easier."
These comments come only a day after Benitez expressed his intentions to see his side maintain their lead over Chelsea.
Speaking to the club’s official website ahead of tomorrow’s game against surprise package Hull City at Anfield, Benitez said:
"We can now concentrate on domestic considerations. We do not want to give up top spot. We now have almost three months to concentrate on the Premier League, and the FA Cup. We would want to go back into Europe next year still top of the table."
Benitez believes that the reason for their reliance on other teams faltering is down to their rivals’ spending power, stating that they have “greater financial means” than the Mersysiders.
With only a few weeks to go until the transfer window opens, this could be seen as a signal for Liverpool’s American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillette, to dig deep in order for Benitez to strengthen in January.
Benitez is currently in negotiations with the Anfield board over a new contract and the issue of January’s potential transfer kitty could prove to be an important one, although Benitez has stressed that the length of the contract is the most important.
"The question was about the length of the contract, and after that it was my role. We are talking about more (years) now, and we are happy with the talks.”
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