WEMBLEY trip sorted? Check. Manchester United dumped out the FA Cup? Check. Liverpool FC confidence restored after that Reebok debacle? Check. Now, having seen his team revitalise their season inside the space of three days, Kenny Dalglish has set his sights firmly on chasing down Liverpool’s rivals in the race for Champions League qualification.
With minds having been distracted by recent cup exploits, a run of only one win in six Premier League games has seen the Anfield outfit slip back down to seventh place, six points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea.
Given 16 games remain, it’s hardly an unbridgeable gap. And, ahead of tonight’s top-flight visit to struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers, Dalglish believes his squad are just beginning to tap into their potential.
“I said before Wednesday’s game against City, we have a second leg of semi-final, the fourth round of FA Cup and 16 league matches to go – we have got a lot to play for, the season is in front of us,” says the Liverpool manager.
“After a smashing start we got ourselves to Wembley, then a big game came up right on the back of it on Saturday and they got themselves through that. We just have to keep going.
“Certainly, if we are going to get better then we have a hell of a lot to look forward to. We've not done too badly so far this season, have we?”
Dalglish adds: “The new players will know more about this football club after the last week. It's a huge plus for them.
“They have done a lot of good work here, but it's also a transitional period with seven new guys coming in. Most of them finished up on the pitch at the end of both the cup games.
“There's a lot that would have been playing a semi-final of a cup at Anfield for the first time. It would have been a fantastic experience for them as well as facing Manchester United in the FA Cup and coming out on top in both games.
“It would have done the boys who haven't experienced that before a world of good. It also gives the players the confidence that they can compete, which is important.
“We are still a work in progress, but we are making progress and that's the main thing. That progress has been shown over the last week.”
The transformation during Dalglish’s second reign can be seen on the teamsheet from their last visit to Wolves a little over 12 months ago.
