Kenny Dalglish is calling on Liverpool to "get our house in order" after a traumatic few weeks for the club.
The club have endured a torrid time since boss Rafa Benitez launched his rant at Sir Alex Ferguson and they have won just one of their last six games.
They have blown an eight-point lead in the title race to trail Manchester United by two points and have played a game more.
Benitez's behaviour has become more erratic and he has argued with the board over his contract, criticised them for not moving quicker to tie down Daniel Agger, and banned journalists.
His gamble on selling Robbie Keane backfired within 48 hours as Liverpool crashed out of the FA Cup to Everton and Steven Gerrard has been ruled out for three weeks with a torn hamstring.
Dalglish, who was manager when Liverpool last won the title in 1990, is dismayed at watching his beloved club slide.
The Anfield legend fears their showdown with Manchester United on March 14 will be meaningless if they do not start turning draws into victories.
"We've had a mixed bag of results recently with a number of frustrating draws being followed by a wonderful victory over Chelsea then the Cup defeat," said Dalglish.
"The league table doesn't look as healthy as it did this time last month.
"It's going to be a massive game when we go to Old Trafford and we're going to need to win there.
But before that we have to make sure we pick up as many points as possible.
"All we can do is get our own house in order and if we do that between now and when we go to United, then that's all anyone can ask. If they drop points between now and then it's a bonus, but to collect that bonus in full we have to win our matches."
Liverpool have dropped valuable points in draws with Stoke (twice), Fulham, Wigan, Hull and West Ham and Dalglish feels this has undone all the hard work in beating Chelsea and United.
"The disappointment is that for years we've been saying we need better results against the big teams and, although we've managed that this season, we've let ourselves down with results against teams we'd definitely be favourites to beat," he said.
"We've taken 10 points from 12 so far against our title rivals, but haven't capitalised on those results in some other matches."
Dalglish suspects one or two players took victory for granted against those lesser teams.
"I did think people were getting a bit too carried away after our results over Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal earlier in the season," he said.
"They were looking at our fixtures saying we'd be picking up three points here, there and everywhere.
"That doesn't happen in football and it proves every single game in this league is difficult."
The club have endured a torrid time since boss Rafa Benitez launched his rant at Sir Alex Ferguson and they have won just one of their last six games.
They have blown an eight-point lead in the title race to trail Manchester United by two points and have played a game more.
Benitez's behaviour has become more erratic and he has argued with the board over his contract, criticised them for not moving quicker to tie down Daniel Agger, and banned journalists.
His gamble on selling Robbie Keane backfired within 48 hours as Liverpool crashed out of the FA Cup to Everton and Steven Gerrard has been ruled out for three weeks with a torn hamstring.
Dalglish, who was manager when Liverpool last won the title in 1990, is dismayed at watching his beloved club slide.
The Anfield legend fears their showdown with Manchester United on March 14 will be meaningless if they do not start turning draws into victories.
"We've had a mixed bag of results recently with a number of frustrating draws being followed by a wonderful victory over Chelsea then the Cup defeat," said Dalglish.
"The league table doesn't look as healthy as it did this time last month.
"It's going to be a massive game when we go to Old Trafford and we're going to need to win there.
But before that we have to make sure we pick up as many points as possible.
"All we can do is get our own house in order and if we do that between now and when we go to United, then that's all anyone can ask. If they drop points between now and then it's a bonus, but to collect that bonus in full we have to win our matches."
Liverpool have dropped valuable points in draws with Stoke (twice), Fulham, Wigan, Hull and West Ham and Dalglish feels this has undone all the hard work in beating Chelsea and United.
"The disappointment is that for years we've been saying we need better results against the big teams and, although we've managed that this season, we've let ourselves down with results against teams we'd definitely be favourites to beat," he said.
"We've taken 10 points from 12 so far against our title rivals, but haven't capitalised on those results in some other matches."
Dalglish suspects one or two players took victory for granted against those lesser teams.
"I did think people were getting a bit too carried away after our results over Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal earlier in the season," he said.
"They were looking at our fixtures saying we'd be picking up three points here, there and everywhere.
"That doesn't happen in football and it proves every single game in this league is difficult."
No comments:
Post a Comment