Kenny Dalglish Wants Team To Learn From Mistakes

Disappointed Kenny Dalglish has urged Liverpool to learn from their mistakes after their eight-match unbeaten run was brought to a shuddering halt.

First-half goals from Scott Parker and Demba Ba sent West Ham United on their way a convincing 3-1 victory at Upton Park yesterday.

Glen Johnson's 84th-minute strike – his second goal of the season against his former club – did threaten a comeback until Carlton Cole's injury-time clincher.

And Dalglish has warned his players there can be no repeat of the failings that gave Liverpool too large a task to overcome after the interval.

“The last 20 or 25 minutes we started to play a wee bit like we can,” said the Anfield manager.

“We got the goal near the end and we thought we might steal a point, but then Carlton scored. There were a couple of shouts for a penalty, things that are outside our control that you can’t manage, but we’ll try and correct the mistakes we made today.

“I don’t know if it was an aftermath to Thursday night, but we just didn’t seem as good as we have been.

“We still had a few opportunities up and around their box. Obviously we’re disappointed at losing, but it was the way we played as well. Don’t take any credit from West Ham, though.”

Injuries to Martin Kelly and Raul Meireles added to the gloom for Dalglish, although the Liverpool manager was pleased to see Steven Gerrard return from a three-match absence and Johnson recover from an Achilles problem.

The game came too soon for Andy Carroll, with Dalglish refusing to rush the £35million into his debut having been sidelined since December by a thigh complaint.

“We’re analyzing Andy every day,” said the Scot. “He’s better than bang on schedule. We never pencilled in a date when he’d play.

“If he’s okay, then as soon as he is he’ll be involved.

“We just have to wait and see. There’s been nothing that’s happened since he came in that’s had an adverse effect on his progress.

“We never had him in mind for this game.”

Remarkably, yesterday's defeat was only Liverpool's sixth in their last 47 meetings with West Ham.