CHRISTMAS is a time for goodwill and catching up with old friends. But Liverpool FC mnager Kenny Dalglish has warned former club Blackburn Rovers they will not be handed any belated gifts at Anfield this afternoon.

Dalglish takes no pleasure from the travails currently afflicting the Lancastrians, who are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table following a dismal first half to the campaign.

The Scot spent almost four years at Ewood Park in the early 90s, leading them out of the old second division before claiming the Premiership title in 1995.

However, football has little room for sentiment. And beleaguered Blackburn manager and fellow Glaswegian Steve Kean can expect no favours from Dalglish once the whistle blows at 3pm.

“I think it is a disappointing time and you have sympathy for everybody in that position,” says Dalglish.

“Certainly the pressure that everybody at the club is under, it is a results driven business and if you are at the wrong end of the table then you expect a bit of criticism and if it is that bad your P45.

“Blackburn was a fantastic club when I was there but I think as a club it has changed. Obviously the ownership has changed for a start, there were fantastic people there but I don’t think there is many of them left either.

“It is sad to see somewhere where you enjoyed working in the position that they are at the moment, but we won’t give them any sympathy.

“We will try and be as professional and ruthless as we can. It is just fortunate that it’s not us who are getting the stick.”

Abuse would be a more accurate description of the frightful treatment Kean has suffered at the hands of disgruntled Blackburn supporters, which plumbed new depths in the wake of their 2-1 home defeat to neighbours and fellow strugglers Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday night.