RAFAEL Benitez insists he wasn't guilty of underestimating Burnley.

The Liverpool manager chose to field a weakened side for last night's trip to Turf Moor but was made to see the error of his ways as they were dumped out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle courtesy of a bizarre Djimi Traore own goal.

However, Benitez declared the Clarets were not a surprise package and he had no regrets about his team selection.

"We cannot play all the games with the same players," the Spaniard said.

"They tried. The problem is when you play four competitions you need to use your squad. If you can't play four competitions you need to focus on the next game in the next competition.

"We have a lot of injured players and we need them to be ready for the Premiership, the Carling Cup and the Champions League.

"I don't think it (team selection) was a mistake. I am happy with the players, they tried. We worked hard, the squad in the Carling Cup was the same idea and we won, but not today. We now have three competitions. All of us are disappointed with the result but that is football."

He added: "It was high tempo in the first 25 minutes, after that we controlled the game.

"We played better in the second half. They made some countrer attacks but I think we played better.

"But you need to play with more pressure."

Meanwhile, Benitez refused to chastise Traore for his casual turn which resulted in the ball sweeping over his own goal-line.

"It's a mistake," he said. "He knows it was a mistake but in the six-yard area you need to clear the ball."