Dalglish praises local influence

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has hailed the influence of his home-grown talent after their 3-0 win over fierce rivals Everton on Tuesday.

The win was powered by a fantastic hat-trick from Steven Gerrard, with the skipper netting once in the first half and twice after the break to pull Liverpool to within seven points of fifth-placed Chelsea.

As well as Gerrard, Dalglish was quick to praise fellow Merseysiders Jamie Carragher, Martin Kelly and Jay Spearing.

“All the local boys were fantastic for us,” Dalglish told Sky Sports. “Steven with a hat-trick – I’m not educated enough to add to the fantastic comments he has had before.”

“Jay Spearing was fantastic, Carragher and Kells’ (Kelly) at right-back.”

“Obviously Steven getting three goals was a great reward for him.”

“He has had one or two bumps this season with injuries and to come back and get three in a local derby, I’m sure there will be a wee smile on his face.”

“The performance tonight got the result it deserved and that was three points.”

Everton boss David Moyes, who celebrates 10 years in charge of the club on Wednesday, was downbeat after the performance and lamented some costly defensive errors.

“We conceded three terrible goals,” Moyes said. “We contributed to our own downfall, but you have still got to go on and finish them and Liverpool did that.”

“We have been on a good run and there were bits of what we did which were okay.”

Moyes said rotating the team to keep his squad fresh at this stage of the season is key, especially with his men facing an FA Cup quarter-final against Sunderland on Saturday.

“I think Kenny made a lot of changes in his game up at Sunderland (Liverpool’s 1-0 loss on Saturday),” he said.

“I think you have to juggle your squad and decide where you prioritise.”