Saturday, April 23, 2011

Kenny Dalglish Finds Fringe Benefits But Summer Exodus Still Likely

Kenny Dalglish has praised Liverpool's fringe players for their contribution towards the club's upturn in fortunes, although that will not prevent a cull of the squad at the end of the season.

Joe Cole, Milan Jovanovic, David Ngog and Christian Poulsen have rarely featured since Dalglish became manager in January and Liverpool are likely to consider to offers for all in the summer. Cole has started just two Europa League games under the new manager and Jonjo Shelvey was preferred to the former England international when Dalglish was forced to withdraw the injured Andy Carroll against Arsenal last weekend.

Despite the club reportedly securing the biggest kit deal in English football with a £25m-a-year contract with the Boston-based Warrior Sports, Liverpool are looking to raise additional transfer funds in the summer and will offload players currently out on loan, such as Alberto Aquilani, Emiliano Insúa and Paul Konchesky. Yet Dalglish says he has had no problems from those he has overlooked.

"The important thing for us is the players who aren't playing because their attitude is really important. They have been brilliant," the Liverpool manager said, speaking ahead of Saturday's home game against Birmingham City. "They came in on Monday morning and trained fantastically well. Most of them are forward players, apart from Christian, and it's difficult for us to get them a game because our injuries are at the back. They are deserving of a game because of their attitude and the way they have gone about their work."

One player who has voiced his disaffection at Liverpool is the Serbia international Jovanovic, who admits he "made a mistake" in moving to Anfield on a free transfer last summer having been signed by Rafael Benítez. But Dalglish countered: "I don't know what's going to happen with Milan. He's been injured and still has a problem with his knee so if you are not fit it's difficult to be selected."

The Liverpool manager believes there is a new-found belief in the squad since his arrival, with the signings of Carroll and Luis Suárez instrumental in lifting the mood of the club. He said: "I had belief in them [when he took over] but they had to get belief in themselves. The first game at Old Trafford after they went down to 10 men after giving a penalty away in the first minute to the same referee we've got on Saturday [Howard Webb], it was fantastic the way they hung on in there.

"OK, we lost at Blackpool, but you could see they were determined to get something out of the game. They've been fantastic in training, their approach and their attitude, and I think getting Luis and Andy was a big thing in January. That lifted everyone. I think also bringing the youngsters in, if they're good enough to play, in a strange way gives the other first-team players a lift seeing some young faces in there."

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