"But maybe if you want to play every game in a top side it is difficult. He needed to change.
"He tried from the beginning to the end and was a good player for us.
"Some players want to play every week. In a top side it is not easy, you have two games a week and play only one. It is hard to change players, they prefer to play every week."
Benitez will be without the injured pair Fernando Torres and Fabio Aurelio, with Robbie Keane and Andrea Dossena expected to step into the side.
And he has words of encouragement, too, for new West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola.
He said: "He is learning to be a manager as games go by, and that is not easy. Zola was a fantastic player but to be a manager is totally different. He has been under pressure but he is clever and has brought in experienced staff.
"He has had problems but West Ham won their last away game at Sunderland and will be confident."
