Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Dalglish Welcomes Johnson Back

Kenny Dalglish is delighted to have Glen Johnson back in his plans, with the full-back having made his Premier League return on Saturday.

With just nine minutes of top flight action under his belt prior to the weekend, Johnson came through a 90-minute outing against Norwich unscathed.

The England international has handed Dalglish something of a selection dilemma at right-back, with Martin Kelly having shone in his absence, but the Scot is delighted to have such strength in depth.

"It's great to have him (Johnson) back," the Reds boss told the club's official website.

"It's a wee bit unfortunate on Martin Kelly that Glen went in and played, but it just shows you the quality of people we have in the squad and that's what we want.

"Glen certainly did well and it might have been a wee bit of a risk to put him back in as early as that, but he had around 65 minutes at Ibrox (against Rangers) and that helped him.

"We're delighted to see him back and also have a wee bit of heavy heart for Kells as well."

Johnson and Kelly will be vying for a starting berth once again in midweek, with Liverpool set to face Stoke in the Carling Cup fourth round on Wednesday.

The Reds have seen off Exeter and Brighton in the competition so far this term and Dalglish is planning to stick with a winning formula.

He said: "I think we've said after both games about the players' attitude and commitment.

"We've made several changes for both games - and the way they went about their work was a great reflection on the pride they have in themselves and also the football club.

"It will be the same for us at Stoke. They are a Premier League club and we'll put a very strong team out again - and we expect the same level of commitment and effort from the players.

"We cannot guarantee anything other than we're going to work hard to try and get a result - and we don't try and kid anybody that we're trying to underestimate the tournament.

"We take it seriously and we'll be going to try and get a result. It's a trophy - and we'd love to win a trophy at some stage."

Liverpool are close to full strength ahead of their date with the Potters, with back-up keeper Alexander Doni set to figure despite dislocating his finger in a friendly date with Rangers last week.

The Scot said: "It's more or less the same as what we had before. Danny Wilson and Jack Robinson are the only two, and Brad Jones has a thigh injury.

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