ENGLAND – Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is confident his side can build on their Carling Cup triumph and bring more second tier trophies back to Anfield.
In his second spell as manager of the Mersyside club, Dalglish said victory in a competition other Premier League clubs wrote off in the third round would give his players a taste for winning trophies no one else bothers with.
The the 60-year-old Scot told reporters: “I’m confident this will be the beginning of a long line of medals we pick up because other teams couldn’t be arsed.”
‘This means so much to us, really’
Football pundits lined up to congratulate Liverpool’s victory. Journalist Henry Winter suggested “this was as good as when they won the community shield against…well I don’t actually remember when it was or who they played or what the score ended up being, but I’m sure it meant something to Liverpool.”
Dalglish was jubilant following the dramatic win: “I think the players have got the bit between their teeth now and are hungry for more days like this: picking up silverware that Championship teams would kill for.”
“Right at the beginning, when we went to Exeter City in the second round, we said we wanted to treat the competition with respect,” said Dalglish, “because in all honesty we were never going to finish in the top four with this squad.”
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker echoed the congratulatory mood: “Just look at the joy on the player’s faces…you’d think they’d never won a trophy before. Hats off to them.”
Aiming high
Liverpool’s American owner John Henry backed the club’s pursuit of cups that were third or fourth priority to the nation’s top clubs.
Henry said he was proud to see his investment pay off with “what is the equivalent of the World Series in the States…right? Right?!”
The Liverpool manager believed the club could now “kick on” and go for the Europa League next year “in our pursuit of more meaningless trophies.”
“Although we have won something today, that is not us finished. Today it’s the Carling Cup. Tomorrow it could be the Johnstones Paint Trophy,” claimed a proud Dalglish.
“The atmospheric layer just below the sky is now the limit at this football club.”
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