Comolli: Why KD is right man

Dalglish was today confirmed as the Club's new boss on a three-year contract, with assistant Steve Clarke also putting pen to paper on a permanent deal.

Despite insisting the Reds would undertake a thorough search for their new manager after initially appointing Dalglish on a temporary deal back in January, Comolli admits results on the field ultimately rendered an extensive recruitment process pointless.

And now he is confident the Reds have the right man in charge to bring the glory days back to Anfield.

"We said at the start of the process we wanted somebody who was competent, had good man-management skills and who understood the philosophy of the Club," he said. "Kenny fits perfectly with what we've been looking for. There is nobody better to say what the club's playing philosophy is because that's what he represents.

"This is the right thing for the club and is very positive news. I have been talking with players about stability, about keeping them long-term, and I think that's even more important with the manager. I think the last thing anyone wanted was another change, so this is a strong sign of stability and that the club is settled in all areas.

"We didn't really look elsewhere because Kenny turned things around very quickly, with the help of Steve Clarke. For us, it was a no brainer."

The Reds have enjoyed a rapid rise up the league table since Dalglish's return back in January, with only Chelsea sitting above them in the form table over the second half of the campaign.

"He hit the ground running and turned things around very quickly," added Comolli. "He came in from day one knowing what he wanted to do because he knew the boys anyway, especially the key players like Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, and knew the young players in the Academy.

"The impact has been great. Arsene Wenger was at Arsenal before I arrived there and so I could only see it from the outside but I think the two share some qualities.

"The first thing is the quality of the football. Kenny insists on quality of passing and movement on the pitch.

"Secondly, when you are talking about individual players they both like intelligent players who can see things. When Kenny talks about players, he talks about whether they can see a pass in the final third. What about their vision? That's something Arsene talks about.

"They both have a massive ability to give confidence to the team and to the players. They bring self belief into the young players by saying 'you are good so that is why you are playing'. That gives fantastic confidence to young players. The other thing they say is 'don't do anything different to what you have been doing. It doesn't matter that you're at Anfield or the Emirates, just play your normal game. If I pick you it's because you are good enough'. That's a fantastic approach Kenny has got with young players.

"His man-management of the squad has been tremendous. He has this ability to give self belief to the players, he has the ability to breed confidence in the senior players and to relax the young players and make them feel comfortable when they are playing the biggest game of their lives. When they make their first team debut, whether it's at Anfield for John Flanagan or at the Emirates for Jack Robinson, he can relax them and that's been the most impressive thing for me."

Click on the play button below to watch our exclusive chat with Comolli

As well as looking on with pride as several of the club's youngsters have made the step-up from youth team football to first-team action this season, Comolli also credits Dalglish with bringing the best out of the more established senior players.

"It's all down to confidence," he says. "Within that you can mention a lot of things: man-management, tactics, style of play and training. Look at Maxi - he was not playing much in recent weeks, but has now scored two hat-tricks. The good thing is he is coming to a team which has confidence, belief and is playing good football. What Steve and Kenny have been doing has bred confidence.

"The good thing is in the football club everything is a consequence of what happens on the pitch. There is a good atmosphere around the place because we do very well on the pitch. Why do we do very well on the pitch? Because of the reasons we mentioned, Kenny coming in, making a fantastic impact and lifting people and getting fantastic results.

"It's due to the work that Kenny and Steve have done that the atmosphere at Melwood and the club in general is so good. If you go to the Academy everyone is in a very positive mood because Jack Robinson has played for the first team, because Jay Spearing is a regular in the team and because John Flanagan has been a regular in the team.

"This is a great lift for everybody at the Academy. We have given new contracts to several players there as well and when they sign you tell them they can have a chance of playing for the first team. At other clubs people say that but it is not happening, but here the kids can say 'I know' because they see it happening. Kelly and Spearing have played, we've mentioned Flanagan and Robinson and Conor Coady, Raheem Sterling and Andre Wisdom have also been involved recently, which is very positive.

"Knowing Kenny, even if he had not known those kids well he would have played them or involved them because he trusts the youth set-up and isn't scared to make big decisions. It doesn't matter what your name is or what your age is. If he thinks you are good he will play you."

As well as enjoying much-improved results over recent months, the style of football and attacking intent to win games has also pleased Reds' fans, all of whom will be thrilled with Kenny's permanent appointment.

But Comolli is keen to stress this isn't a decision merely to appease the fans' clamour for the return of King Kenny.

"It is definitely the right decision and is based on what's happening on the pitch and not taking anything else into consideration," he says.

"The game on Monday was just the perfect example of what we want. It was a perfect evening of great football, great movement, great attacking and five goals.

"This is the tradition of the club. When you're talking about the playing and coaching philosophy, this is what we want. If you see us from U13 through to the first team, it's the same idea and same way of thinking.

"Sometimes games are so tight at the top level that the manager has to make the right decision, the right substitution or the right tactical decision which is going to win the game. Players know each other so well that the intensity of the game and the concentration is so high that sometimes the change you make can make the difference. Kenny has shown several times since he came back that he is able to do that."

So with the manager's position now secure and Liverpool looking forward to a future under the leadership of their legendary number seven, how confident is Comolli that it will be a future full of success?

"When I congratulated him on the contract this was a discussion I had with him," he added. "I said hopefully we can bring success back to the club and he said we will definitely try. You can never guarantee success, but we will work as hard as we can.

"We have a lot of quality in the team. Since January we are second in the league behind Chelsea which shows that if we'd had a season like this we'd have been in the top two, three, four or whatever. We know we have quality but we also know we have weaknesses and we'll address that in the summer.

"The more quality football we play and the more feedback we get from people in football, I sense we are very attractive to top players, whether it's at Academy level where a lot of talented young boys want to join us or at first team level where a lot of senior players want to join us. It shows the excitement is not just within the club and that it is spread around. We are attractive as a club and that's very positive for the future."