The Anfield men are assured of fourth spot and Champions League football next term before they trot out at White Hart Lane but the club's long-term future is little more than a ticking time bomb.

Funding for the new stadium, plus the futures of manager Rafael Benitez, co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett plus chief executive Rick Parry are anything but assured.

And half-a-dozen players also have uncertain futures. Peter Crouch, John Arne Riise, Jermaine Pennant and Xabi Alonso could all follow axed Harry Kewell out of the Anfield door.

Benitez's patience could well depend on how quickly Liverpool's hierarchy act in the transfer market.

He admitted on Thursday that he was delaying his holiday to see through the deals he wants.

But if things start to go wrong on the transfer front and deals take too long to complete - Benitez's major complaint about Parry's stewardship - his relationship with the owners could well again become strained.

Benitez is "doing his job and working for the future" and he said: "I think I will have the backing in the transfer market from the owners this summer.

"At least we are doing our job and we are saying to the owners 'this is our plan and our idea.' They will see that we are not asking for silly things and we need to improve the squad and the team."

But Anfield insiders sense that there is another crisis just around the corner.

Benitez suggests that he is delaying his holiday to be hands-on at Anfield in the weeks after the final match.

He said: "Everyone needs a break, but when you know that you need to do your job until the end, it is important to be focused and concentrating on the work. I have enough energy left."

But Benitez knows that the ownership battle, and Dubai International Capital's presence waiting in the wings, will not go away.

It is now believed that Gillett, who has kept a very low profile in recent weeks, is again prepared to talk about the sale of his shares to DIC having made it clear to Hicks that he will not sell to his partner.

Hicks is trawling the cash markets - banks and hedge funds - searching for backers with the obvious need to find £350m to under-pin the new stadium costs and allow work to start.

There is money for transfers, but not enough to avoid Benitez's having to sell as well as buy. He even admitted after the final home game with Manchester City that he was "unsure" of his transfer kitty.

And the ownership crunch could come if Gillett again agrees to sell to DIC and Hicks attempts to veto that move. It is still not clear how long he can block such a position, with the Dubai group unwilling to face a long, legal battle.

So Liverpool's summer starts with this worrying backdrop, with Benitez "doing his job" and working with the owners and Parry over transfer targets.

If June and July arrive without significant movement, then Benitez's position would again look problematic.

So Liverpool fans at Spurs on Sunday could well be forgiven for looking at their bench, squad and the directors' box and wondering how many they will see again.

For now Benitez is playing everything very straight, and concentrating on the final match.

He says: "To achieve 76 points would be fantastic. You always want to win trophies but we want more than 117 goals and another clean sheet, that would make us happier.

"We would like to sign off with a win, score some goals and play well. It is never easy to play the last game away from home, the hosts always find such occasions easier.

"But we have hungry people who want to show what they can do, we want another clean sheet and we want to add to the 117 goals we have scored this season.

"We want three more points, we aim to our very best to end on a note. We will use players with commitment and passion. If they are young, then we will use young players."