Dalglish: Premier League ‘obsession’ devalues cup

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish believes an “obsession” with the Premier League is reducing the value of winning cup competitions.

The Reds head into Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea looking for their second piece of silverware this season having already lifted the Carling Cup.

However, Liverpool’s league form has been wildly inconsistent in the current campaign and a home defeat to Fulham on Tuesday night means they have now dropped 30 points at Anfield and languish in eighth place.

But while Dalglish accepts Liverpool’s league form has not been good enough, he does not believe it should devalue their progress in knockout competitions, having ended a six-year wait for silverware.

“Any competition you enter, you want to do the best you possibly can,” said the Scot.

“In the league, it is 38 games and at the end you finish in a position which tells you how successful it has been.

“In cup competitions there are obviously not as many games and if you get beaten, you are out.

“There is an obsession with the Premier League simply because of what it holds for every club and the value financially for every club, the rewards for finishing in the top four and getting in the Champions League.

“But there is a satisfaction from winning a cup competition which you don’t get from finishing fifth or sixth in the league.

“We have already tasted a cup final this year, albeit the Carling Cup, and getting to the FA Cup final should never be underestimated in any way.

“It is a fantastic day out for everyone and is great reward for the efforts and commitment of the players and the respect we have paid to the competition.

“We think we deserve to be there and we are happy to be there.

“We will see what happens. We are in the cup final and there is no guarantee we will win but there is a guarantee we will give everything we have got to try to win.

“The season will be assessed when it’s finished.”