Excited Dalglish relishes Merseyside derby

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is just as excited about the Merseyside derby as he ever was.

Dalglish’s side host Everton in a Premier League blockbuster on Saturday, and the manager – who is in his second stint at Liverpool – says he remains as excited about the match as he was during his 14-year playing career at Anfield.

“The competition is still as intense and the desire to win is the same as before,” Dalglish told the club’s official website.

“I don’t think it has devalued – it doesn’t matter how long ago it was you have been involved or not or how recently. It is a Merseyside derby and like everyone who has been involved in it they think it is the most important one.”

“But people in Birmingham think theirs is the biggest, Rangers and Celtic think theirs is the biggest – and they are right.”

“This is the biggest one because this is the one I am involved in. There is no point in having a league table of clubs you are not involved with.”

The 60-year-old will take the cautious approach about captain Steven Gerrard’s fitness, despite the magnitude of the game.

“The game is not the important thing – Steven Gerrard is the most important,” he said.

“As we’ve said before, we’ll manage Steven as well as we possibly can.”

Dalglish is determined to win the match for the fans and is not worried about whether Charlie Adam, Andy Carroll or Stewart Downing have not played in a Merseyside derby.

“We know what a victory in the derby means to the people of Liverpool and how much elation the players get from it,” he said.

“There are players who have not played in it before who may play on Saturday but I am sure they understand what it stands for.”

“I think the Rangers-Celtic derby has given Charlie a good grounding, Andy has had the north-east derby and Stewart has had Villa-Birmingham – which is not the smallest.”

“They may not have experienced this derby but they have all experienced a derby of some sorts.”