Kenny happy with forward options

KENNY DALGLISH believes shared responsibility has been the key to Liverpool's late season charge for Europa League qualification ahead of tonight's clash at Fulham.

A haul of 30 points from the 15 games since Dalglish took over in January has silenced talk of the Reds being a two-man attacking force.

For a long time they appeared to be overly reliant on skipper Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. However, with Gerrard ruled out with a groin injury and Torres having been sold to Chelsea, others have risen to the challenge in recent months.

Midfielders Raul Meireles and Maxi Rodriguez have made vital goal scoring contributions along with Dirk Kuyt, Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll.

"I don't know what it was before but the more options you have the better it is for everyone," the Reds boss said.

"Successful teams are the ones with the greatest number of options going forward.

"Everyone here has come on. It's great credit to them and the confidence and belief they have in themselves. They have built up that confidence themselves with their results.

"Where you get your ammunition from doesn't really matter. But the more choices you have, the stronger you are going to be."

Players have fed off each other's individual success and Dalglish says even those who haven't been involved in the matches have contributed to the feelgood factor around the squad.

"Different people get a lift in different ways," he said. "Not everyone can score a goal. For Pepe (Reina) a shutout is equally rewarding to him as anyone scoring a goal. It's the same for the back four, a clean sheet is great reward for them. It all helps with their confidence.

"The most important thing is the players who aren't playing and how they react. It's easy when you are playing every week and getting results to enjoy training.

"The hard part is for those not playing as often as they would be at other clubs. When they come in with a positive attitude it lifts the whole place.

"There's nothing there to put a shadow over anything we do in training. They all want to join in and it's great credit to them. It's hard when you are not in that group - I understand that.

"No team has ever been successful without a good dressing room."

Liverpool have the chance to climb back above Spurs into fifth place tonight but Dalglish insists his players won't need any added motivation.

"They've got pride in the football club to play for - that's more important than anything else," he said.

"They've had nothing to play for other than their pride and their reputation for many weeks. Even if that Europa spot wasn't up for grabs they would still be committed.

"It's a great compliment to the players how committed and determined they are. You always get your rewards for hard work."

Source: Liverpool Echo

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