Rafael Benitez's relationship with Liverpool owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks has been strained before - now it is close to breaking point.

Benitez delivered an extraordinary, exasperated performance at his media briefing before Liverpool's visit to Newcastle on Saturday.

He responded to questioning on a variety of topics by repeating that he was "focused on training and coaching my team" no fewer than 25 times.

Benitez was so agitated that he was even happy to link himself with the newly-vacated England job - a sure sign of any man's discontent.

So what is the truth behind the apparent breakdown in relations between Benitez and Anfield's American owners?

My understanding is that Hicks and Gillett were furious with Benitez's outburst, which they regard as unwarranted and undeserved.

And, contrary to reports, his incendiary reaction was not a response to a telephone call with the Americans shortly before the press conference.

Benitez has been told within the last three weeks that no transfer business - in or out - or any potential funding, will be discussed until Hicks and Gillett return to Merseyside from America in mid-December.

He has clearly stewed on this information and the lid came off at Liverpool's Melwood training headquarters in almost surreal circumstances.

Hicks and Gillett were similarly infuriated and mystified when Benitez, in an apparent fit of pique, launched an attack on them in the wake of the Champions League final defeat against AC Milan in Athens in May.

I believe that was forgiven, if not exactly forgotten, and even Thursday's outburst has not put his job in immediate jeopardy.

But if it was designed to shake the Americans off course from their original strategy of formulating all their transfer plans in December, it has backfired.

Benitez's very public show of petulance will not persuade Hicks or Gillett to shift their stance one inch.

There will be no discussions until mid-December whether Benitez likes it or not.

If that has made him question his position, so be it.

The ball is now firmly back in his court, but he can be in no doubt that he has not pleased his employers and they are sure to take a dim view if he delivers any more public criticism.

Hicks and Gillett believe they gave Benitez everything he wanted in the transfer market in the summer, even though it was a stretch on their planned transfer budget.

They feel the arrival of Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Babel demonstrated their commitment.

This is a point for debate among Liverpool supporters, with some suggesting he recouped plenty back from sales, but this is the view across the Atlantic.

Benitez has since come up with a number of transfer targets that he wishes to pursue and has expressed fears to the Anfield hierarchy that he could miss out.

Hicks and Gillett want to sit down in December and formulate a clear plan. There will be no scatter-gun spending.

Rather than back down in the face of increasing and regular pressure from Benitez, I am told his latest broadside left the American pair almost having to be scraped off the ceiling in rage.

Their message to Benitez was to stay silent and get on with the business of coaching and winning games between now and December - then they will talk business.

They feel their request that Benitez waits until December to discuss matters further is perfectly reasonable - a view clearly not shared by their manager.

Benitez is no stranger to the politicking of football. He had similar problems at Valencia over transfer targets.

But I understand the Americans will not be budged, leaving Benitez to either bite his tongue and wait or continue to publicly berate the club's owners.

If he fails to take the hint, it may well be that Benitez might pursue his ambitions elsewhere.

Benitez, despite his benign public image, is a ruthless, single-minded, sore loser - no problem with that.

He also remains a highly-popular figure with Liverpool fans, although that might alter if they fail to reach the Champions League knockout phase.

But Hicks and Gillett feel they have played fair with Benitez, a feeling not reciprocated by the Spanish manager.

Benitez may have the last word, but a major diplomatic incident has been sparked by his criticism and he needs results more than ever as Liverpool enter a crucial phase of their campaign.