Kenny Dalglish has paid tribute to Manager of the Month Brendan Rodgers for the job he has done steering Liverpool back to the league summit and returning the club to its ‘traditional’ feel again.
The Reds boss was today voted as the most impressive boss in March after wins over Manchester United, Cardiff, Southampton, Tottenham and Sunderland – bagging 18 goals in the process. Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez share the player award after attracting the same amount of votes.
In an interview with LFC TV, Dalglish said: “It (Liverpool Football Club) has got the feeling it used to have and that is fantastic, people are sticking to their own jobs and nobody is trying to steal the glory or jump ahead and that is an asset instilled in all the players, everybody is in it together.
“Brendan has done a fantastic job bringing them all together in that tradition and getting them playing for each other. Everything is moving onward and upwards and hopefully it continues,” he said.
Liverpool are enjoying a run of 9 Premier League wins on the spin and are 14 games unbeaten – scoring 46 goals along the way.
11 of the goals in the last 15 games have come from skipper Steven Gerrard and Dalglish says his continued form in a new position has come as no surprise to him: “I don’t think if you put him in goal it would be a problem to him, he’s been so successful at this club and the amount of games he’s pulled us out of the mire together with the way he conducts himself as captain, it’s fantastic.
“Not that we are concerned with England but he does a great job for them too, he is somebody who looks after the press too, gets on with them. On and off the pitch he is a shining example to everybody around him.”
Sunday matches up the Barclays Premier League’s top goal scorers in Manchester City and Liverpool, and Manuel Pellegrini’s side are six short of the Reds total so far (90 vs 84) but last week’s win over Southampton was the 16th time this season that they’ve scored four or more in a game.
Dalglish, who played 515 games in the famous shirt, winning the First Division title six times as a player and three times as a manager, thinks another incredible atmosphere lies in wait for the players on Sunday: “The atmosphere will be unbelievable. It will be daylight when we kick off and some of the best occasions have been evening matches but the last game I can remember where we were standing watching like this was the Champions League game with Chelsea in 2005, when Garcia scored. I can see it being as passionate and electric.”
Manchester City’s only defeat in their last 20 games came at home to fellow title-chasers Chelsea two months ago, Liverpool have only lost once at Anfield this season – and King Kenny admits there could still be some twists and turns to come in the final five games.
“A team that can still play a big part in it is Crystal Palace, we have to go there – City have to go there. The home games with Chelsea and Manchester City look after themselves, the result doesn’t but the preparation for it does.
“If Liverpool don’t win the title it will be a disappointment because they got close but it will be fantastic to get into Champions League if we can do that, anything beyond that will be great.”
5Times, the former Liverpool players association, have events coming up in Liverpool and Dublin, including the chance to play against former legends at Anfield. Click the links below for all the details.
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