Redknapp: Kenny ideal for Reds job

The following story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club:

FORMER Liverpool skipper Jamie Redknapp believes Kenny Dalglish is the ideal candidate to take over from Rafa Benitez in the Anfield hot-seat.

Redknapp was the last player to be signed by Dalglish before he resigned as Liverpool manager back in February 1991.

"Kenny is the right man at the right time for Liverpool," he said.

"He has the quality that money cannot buy: respect. They should be crying out for his leadership now to replace Rafa Benitez.

"Kenny still has that aura about him. He is Liverpool's Special One.

"Benitez won the Champions League and the FA Cup, but it was time for him to go.

"I speak to some of the Liverpool players, but you don't have to do that to see how unhappy they were last season. The manager had lost the dressing room. They almost downed tools.

"The players were fed up and beaten. It reflected in their performances and their final league position. Whoever takes the job has a huge task rebuilding morale and standards.

"He will inherit some good players - but not enough. He will have to take on the responsibility of keeping Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.

"I just think Kenny, with all his Liverpool history, will have a better chance of achieving that, as well as attracting fresh blood."

Dalglish has been out of management since he parted company with Celtic a decade ago. However, Redknapp insists that shouldn't count against him.

"I spent some time with Dalglish last week for the UNICEF game at Old Trafford and saw every day the passion and desire - and the knowledge - Kenny still has for football," he added.

"If the argument against his appointment is that he has been out of the game too long, you wouldn't know it speaking to him - line-ups, formations, players. He's been observing and building his knowledge. He's ready to return to football.

"I'm not pushing him as a candidate for sentimental reasons. He will need good coaches around him and he will need a budget to improve the playing staff, but there will be no compensation package.

"That gives him another advantage over Roy Hodgson and Martin O'Neill, who will both be expensive as they are under contract with rival clubs."

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.