Dalglish delight at Reds support
Kenny Dalglish believes the fantastic team spirit Liverpool have both on and off the pitch can serve as a platform for future success.
The Scot's former club Blackburn Rovers visit Anfield on Boxing Day propping up the Barclays Premier League table and the boss admits to having sympathy for his counterpart Steve Kean.
"I have always been very appreciative of the support that we have here, from everyone, but we'll never ever take it for granted," Dalglish told a packed press conference at Melwood.
"We'll always work to get what we deserve and if we work hard enough and we are fortunate enough then we will get what we want.
"The most sympathy I have is for Blackburn because I was there for three or four years. It was a great place for me to go and work, there were some smashing people there that were in charge of the club at that particular moment in time, and I would never have anticipated or foreseen the situation they are in at this particular moment in time.
"Blackburn are at the wrong end of the table, they are under a bit of pressure and there seems to be a bit of animosity in and around the club at the moment.
"Results aren't purely to what the manager does. You need support from your players, you need support from the owners and you certainly need some support from the crowd.
"The frustration is understandable in many ways but I don't think it's helpful and it's sad really it has come to that, but that's the way it is."
Despite Blackburn's form, former Everton forward Yakubu has had no trouble finding the back of the net.
The striker has fired 11 goals in all competitions so far this term - including four against Swansea City earlier this month.
But while Dalglish is well aware of the threat of the frontman, he knows Rovers have plenty of other players who can trouble Liverpool's rearguard.
"His goal tally is pretty impressive for a team at the bottom of the table," said the boss. "He's a clinical finisher. He got four against Swansea and got another goal the other night (against Bolton).
"He is a threat, but then there are a lot of good strikers that Daniel (Agger) and Martin (Skrtel) have come up against recently and they've been playing particularly well.
"We won't be presumptuous that they are going to play well, but then again we won't be presuming Yakubu is going to score against us either.
"It will be a decent game, and it will be a good competition between Yakubu and ourselves. If we take our eye off everyone else and just concentrate on Yakubu then we could find ourselves in trouble, so we've got to be responsible and look after everybody."
The Reds face a hectic schedule of fixtures over the festive period with three crucial matches in the space of nine days.
Nonetheless, Dalglish is confident he has the squad strength at his disposal to cope with the demands.
He said: "Every game is a pivotal point and for us it's important we get as much as we can from every game, whether that comes within three days or 10 days of each other doesn't make any difference.
"We have a busy schedule of games which demands a very strong squad and I think we've got that. If we get a wee bit of luck then we'll get the results that we all want.
"We take every game as it goes and we look at the last one to see how the lads have recovered from it. It's more poignant now because the games are coming thick and fast. The quicker they recover the better chance they have of playing and not every player recovers at the same time as everyone else.
"The most defining factor is it's a great experiment to find out how strong your squad is. I think we have got a strong squad and I think we may be a bit fortunate than others with regards to team selection."
Liverpool head into the Blackburn contest on the back of a goalless draw at Wigan Athletic.
The Reds could have taken all three points at the DW Stadium had it not been for Ali Al-Habsi saving Charlie Adam's second-half penalty.
The midfielder became the fourth player to miss from 12 yards this season following Luis Suarez, Dirk Kuyt and Andy Carroll, but Dalglish isn't concerned.
He said: "We'll just wait until we get nearer to the game, find out the personnel in the team and then have a conversation about who's going to take them.
"You can only practice your run up - you can't practice anything else. You can't put yourself in the same position as any game when you get on the training pitch. Some people find it satisfactory to practice penalties, but others don't.
"I think if on the day we're fortunate enough to get a penalty kick, then we'll find someone to take it."
The manager was also asked whether he had any worries about the amount of chances his side have not taken so far this season.
"We would love the boys to get the reward some of their outstanding build-up play deserves and we'll continue to make chances, and the opposition know we'll make chances," responded Dalglish.
"There's been a few inspired goalkeeping performances against us which we can't do anything about, and what we've got to do is concentrate on hitting the target. If we are making goalkeepers make saves then there's not much more we say if he gets lucky. It's just unlucky but we'll keep getting in there."
The boss was also quizzed by journalists about the race for a top-four finish and whether he thought the title was just a two horse race between Manchester City and Manchester United.
Dalglish said: "As we've said before the best position in any league is top, the rest is in a way second best.
"All we'll do is concentrate on what we have to do and that's take one game at a time and then we'll add the points up, but I don't think there's anybody in the league who wouldn't want to be in Man City's position right now."