Dalglish wants unity at Liverpool

New Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has called for a united front from his squad as he prepares for his second spell in charge at Anfield.

Ahead of Liverpool’s meeting with Manchester United at Old Trafford in the FA Cup on Sunday, Dalglish said the current form crisis – which on Saturday cost Roy Hodgson his job – can only be overcome by a concerted effort from the entire club.

“All I would say is I’m going to do the best I possibly can to try to help the club, but everybody has to pull in the same direction,” Dalglish said.

“There’s no point not being a unified unit. If we pull in different directions we won’t get anywhere.”

“We won’t always be successful, and to be perfectly realistic, I think we have to say ‘let’s just start walking before we run’.”

“Let’s not go crazy here and think the season changes and we’re going to sweep everything aside now and go undefeated from now to the end of the season.”

Dalglish won six top-flight titles as a player with Liverpool and a further three as manager between 1985 and 1991, with his appointment seen by many fans as the return of a prodigal son.

But having not managed in a decade – and with his last league title coming with Blackburn in 1995 – Dalglish has called for patience from the club’s supporters who think his arrival will be a cure-all for the clubs recent ills.

“It’s not going to turn overnight. We’ve got to get it right between now and the end of the season,” he said.

“There might be some disappointments but the biggest disappointment for me is if everyone who is involved in this football club doesn’t give everything they have to give.”

And despite his long absence from the game, Dalglish said his hunger for competition is as strong as ever.

“I think people know what they’re getting and what’s in the package with Kenny Dalglish, they know they’ll get honesty and a great deal of commitment,” he said.