London, Nov 2 Liverpool legend Ronnie Whelan has criticised the Reds' manager Rafa Benitez for his tactics and warned: "His days are numbered at Liverpool."

Whelan savaged Benitez for taking off striker Fernando Torres during their 3-1 defeat against Fulham to protect him for Wednesday's Champions League against Lyon.

Torres was taken off after an hour with the teams level at 1-1. Liverpool went on to finish the game with nine men after Philipp Degen and Jamie Carragher were shown red cards.

"It's all gone wrong with the manager and he's shown exactly where his priorities lie. He wants to win the European Cup, so he can get a job in Europe. For me, his days have got to be numbered at Liverpool," The Sun quoted Whelan, as saying.

"Why after such a great result against Manchester United, do you want to take a huge step backwards after losing to Arsenal in the Carling Cup as well? I don't see where he's coming from," he added.

Whelan further said that Benitez was taking those players off, who were the only ones who could have helped Liverpool win the game.

"He drags them all off because he's got a game on Wednesday. When I saw the team I thought he's not bothered about this game. He's putting all his eggs in one basket and I can't see why he's done it," Whelan said.

The defeat against Fulham was Liverpool's eighth loss this season and their sixth in seven games. They are now nine points behind remier League leaders Chelsea. (ANI)