Monday, April 02, 2012

Lawrenson: Kenny Dalglish Will Not Walk Away

Kenny Dalglish will not quit as Liverpool manager, according to former team-mate Mark Lawrenson.

Liverpool won the Carling Cup and are in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but the 2-0 defeat by Newcastle was their sixth in seven Premier League games.

Lawrenson, the BBC Sport pundit, told BBC Radio 5 live: "I don't think he'd walk away.

"I don't believe he'll be sacked. It's a poor run, but the new owners are not going to make knee-jerk decisions."

Liverpool, who has slipped to eighth in the league, meet city rivals Everton in the last four of the FA Cup at Wembley on 14 April.

Lawrenson added: "They could win the FA Cup this season, which would be two trophies, and that would be a strange thing to be sacked for.

"As a manager in the Premier League, it's a crisis if you lose a couple of games.

"They have [Aston] Villa at home at the weekend and I hate saying it's a must-win, but it is. I think he [Dalglish] will be fine, but at any level, you have to win games."

Lawrenson pointed to the lack of impact made by Andy Carroll, Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson, big-money signings brought in by Dalglish for a combined total of almost £85m.

"The biggest problem is Adam, Downing, Carroll and Henderson between them has contributed six league goals," said Lawrenson. "You should be looking at 25-30 goals between them.

"Adam hasn't done it but the four of them haven't. Andy Carroll hasn't been the same player - it's the old 'take the boy out of Newcastle'. He's not been the same."

Speaking on Match of the Day 3, Lawrenson added: "We all thought in the summer that they had added more quality.

"At the moment, they are not defending particularly well. But they are absolutely desperate for a goal-scorer."

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