So Rafa Benitez has departed and Liverpool begin their search for a new manager.

Firstly I’d like to say that the current state of the club worries me immensely. If there was one person fighting on behalf of the fans in the Liverpool hierarchy it was Benitez, he clearly wasn’t happy at the way the club was being run and ultimately it probably cost him his job.

While the performances last season clearly weren’t up to scratch, and Benitez must take his share of the blame for that, the state of the boardroom inevitably caught up with events on the pitch.

Despite critics in the media that say Benitez was afforded the luxury of a war chest at Anfield, people often forget the Spaniard had to sell in order to buy, and by the time of Benitez’s final season in charge it was clear that Liverpool were looking at the bargain basement for their signings (Kryiakgos and Maxi prime examples).

For a team who supposedly wanted to challenge for the Premier League title it became impossible to compete with not only Chelsea and Manchester United, but also Tottenham and Manchester City, who had both invested heavily in the summer.

Nevertheless, Benitez’s legacy at Liverpool should always be remembered fondly. Rafa helped bring back the good times and made the supporters happy, even if last season somewhat tainted his reign.

People should remember the epic Champions League run of 2005, the FA Cup in 2006, defeating Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in three semi-finals, the European Cup final of 2007, the victories in the Nou Camp, the San Siro, the Bernabeu, the demolition of Manchester United at Old Trafford and Liverpool’s greatest ever Premier League finish.

Not to mention bringing some of the World’s finest talents to Anfield. People often focus on the Dossenas and Voronins of Benitez’s time in charge but the 50-year-old also added genuine quality to the Liverpool squad. Pepe Reina, Daniel Agger, Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres are players of the highest standard, and all were never guaranteed successes, people even doubted the scoring ability of Torres when Rafa signed him.

Of course Rafa always did things his way, he was never afraid of making big decisions. Perhaps two of the most notable in his time were bringing off Steven Gerrard in the Merseyside Derby and subbing Torres against Birmingham City just a few months back. Of course only one of the above paid off but it is a measure of Benitez that he doesn’t care for star name reputations. While it didn’t always go down particularly well with sections of the Liverpool support, Benitez has to be credited for being his own man, he had his methods and stuck to them.

Where Liverpool go from here is not clear, Christian Purslow and Kenny Dalglish lead the search for a new manager, with the latter apparently in the frame.

What is certainly paramount, in my view, is the swiftness Liverpool must now show to appoint a new man. A manager must be given time to portray his own ideas and methods to the players, and while the budget is limited (rumoured to be £5m), he must also be given the chance to bring in fresh faces.

For these reasons alone it’s important to introduce someone relatively quickly, the club can’t afford many more backward steps. Hesitation will only add to the angst in the dressing room and star players won’t be sticking around and frankly, who would blame them?