King Kenny may stay on Anfield throne
Director of football strategy Damien Comolli yesterday admitted the possibility of the 59-year-old Scot, brought in on Saturday to take charge until the summer after the departure of Roy Hodgson, being made permanent boss had not been ruled out.
Dalglish insists he wants to help in any way he can, although his assertion that he will happily give way to a superior contender puts the pressure on the club’s owners New England Sports Ventures to find a top-class replacement if his short stint in charge turns out to be a success.
“My understanding is it is until the end of the season and that is no problem for me,” he said.
“I’ve heard stories about me demanding this or that — when I was phoned early on Saturday morning it was a straightforward ‘yes’ and that was it for me.
“There are no conditions, no promises, nothing. We’ll not start running before we walk.
“I came back to work at a club that myself and my family are eternally grateful for many things they have done for us.
“If I do really well and there is someone better than me that comes along, I will have no problem whatsoever.
“I am here to be of help to the club and if that means Kenny Dalglish is not the manager, that is not a problem.
“If at the end of the season the owners have their eyes on someone else, then I have no problem stepping aside because if I didn’t I wouldn’t be true to my word. I would do it readily if it meant the club improving.”
Comolli has not ruled out Dalglish’s chances of assuming the role.
Asked what the criteria was for identifying the next permanent manager, the Frenchman said: “Competence, someone who will fit into the club and playing philosophy and huge on man management: the three things most important to the club.
“It is open to people that we think fit into what I have described and Kenny obviously fits into that category.”
Asked whether that meant Dalglish would be considered, he added: “The answer is yes, there will be a thorough search of what we want to do, where we want to get and we’ll talk to Kenny about it and see where it takes us.”
Comolli insisted Dalglish will have the final say on all signings.
The Frenchman welcomed the appointment of Dalglish and said all transfer decisions would be deferred to the manager.
“I think it is great for the club and from a personal point of view because the short time I’ve been here I have exchanged ideas with Kenny on the academy side,” he said.
“We have spoken about how we will work and we have been talking all the time and exchanging ideas.
“As I have always said, if Kenny is not happy with a player we think could make the team better, or if he thinks it is not the right timing, it will always be down to the manager to say he is not happy.
“We haven’t even had a chance to discuss the transfer window with Kenny.
“We have been working on it (a transfers list) with Roy and the owners and I need to update Kenny on what has been going on.’’
Dalglish himself admitted he had no ideas about transfer targets yet.
“I am sure the owners have an opinion about the football club, they own it so they are entitled to, but that is why they put Damien in his position and me in mine,” he said.
“They will leave it in our hands as to whether we need players or not.”
Comolli said it was tricky to pinpoint why Hodgson failed at Anfield.
“It is difficult to say why it didn’t work under Roy,” he added.
“Yesterday we were talking about why things suddenly changed, when after the quality of the passing game we showed here against Chelsea, West Ham and Aston Villa here, then we got two bad performances away at Stoke and Newcastle.
“It is unfortunate because Roy is a very good man and it is a shame it did not work out.”
Meanwhile Liverpool forward Ryan Babel has been charged with improper conduct by the FA for posting a picture of referee Howard Webb on Twitter.
Babel sent out a mocked-up picture of the World Cup final referee wearing a Manchester United shirt following his side’s 1-0 FA Cup third-round defeat at Old Trafford. Babel also wrote: “And they call him one of the best referees? That’s a joke. SMH (shaking my head).”
The 24-year-old later added: “My apology if they take my posted pic seriously. This is just an emotional reaction after losing an important game.
“Sorry Howard Webb.”
The apology has not been enough to prevent a charge from the FA, who said: “The charge relates to comments and images published by the player on Twitter concerning Howard Webb.”
Babel has until 4pm on Thursday to respond to the charge.
The FA are also looking into events during the FA Cup third-round tie between Blackburn and QPR.
Rovers’ 1-0 win at Ewood Park on Saturday was overshadowed by the broken leg suffered by Rangers striker Jamie Mackie in a tackle with Gael Givet. While he was lying injured, Mackie was reportedly taunted by Blackburn striker El-Hadji Diouf, leading QPR boss Neil Warnock to call the Senegal star the “lowest of the low” and a “nasty little person”.
Blackburn have yet to make any comment about Diouf, who has been involved in a number of controversial incidents during his time in England.
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