Cole not for sale, says Dalglish

Manager Kenny Dalglish has reacted angrily to reports Liverpool will sell Joe Cole.

The former Chelsea man has disappointed since signing on a free last summer, but came off the bench to score in the 5-0 demolition of Birmingham City last weekend.

But Dalglish insisted Cole’s future belongs at Liverpool.

“He has been fantastic since he has come here. Joe’s dedication and application on the training pitch has been superb,” he said.

“This week Joe had a day off but he still came in to train.”

“At the moment the lads are not doing too badly so it is difficult to give everybody a game.”

Liverpool have had a marked upturn in results since Dalglish took over from Roy Hodgson in January.

At fortress Anfield they have only lost twice all season but Dalglish knows his charges have been less convincing on the road.

“You cannot have great home form and terrible away form. You need to marry the two together,” he said.

“We’ve had a lot of positive results at Anfield and that’s a step in the right direction. We know that if we can do it at home then we can do it away too.”

“The away form is something everyone would like to improve upon and if we do there will be a better chance of being successful.”

Liverpool will be without defenders Jamie Carragher (concussion), Glen Johnson (hamstring) and Daniel Agger (knee).

Club captain Steven Gerrard (groin) is out for the rest of the season.