I'll make us special ones, says Dalglish after penning deal
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I'll make us special ones, says Dalglish after finally penning long-term Liverpool deal
Big day: Kenny Dalglish (centre) with director of football Damien Comolli (left) and director of football Ian Ayre speak after the announcement
Kenny Dalglish has placed Liverpool's rivals on red alert after he revealed his burning ambition is 'build something special' at Anfield once again.
After enjoying remarkable success since returning to Liverpool as caretaker manager in January, Dalglish and his assistant Steve Clarke signed the three-year contracts they had, in truth, earned many months ago.
According to Damien Comolli, Liverpool's director of football, the decision to make Dalglish's position permanent was a 'no-brainer' following a sequence of results that have propelled the club to the brink of Europa League qualification. Beating Tottenham at home on Sunday would secure fifth place.
Not surprisingly, Dalglish was in fine spirits as he faced the media but beneath the wise-cracks and one-liners, there was no mistaking the Scot's determination to restore Liverpool to the position with which they were synonymous during his first spell in charge.Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool's American owners, will throw their weight behind an ambitious summer recruitment policy and Dalglish believes the foundations are in place to plot an assault on the clubs that have outstripped them since the league title last resided at Anfield in 1990.
'John (W Henry) and Tom (Werner) have taken their time to assess what was best for the football club and bring in the people they wanted to take the club forward,' said Dalglish, who told Liverpool's players of his news immediately after training on Thursday morning.
'They are both winners, but understand what the supporters want from a Liverpool side and the way we should go about things. This is a unique football club and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to help build something special here again.
'We're not going to shout our mouths off and say, ''We're going to win this'' and ''We're going to finish here''. We are just going to work and do the best we possibly can, because a lot of people care an awful lot about this club. We've got to prove we feel the same way.'
One of the main things Dalglish has done since returning is lift the murk that hung over Anfield following the disintegration of Rafa Benitez's reign, the threat of financial armageddon brought on by the failings of previous owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett and the calamities of Roy Hodgson.
Most significantly, however, he has got this squad playing 'The Liverpool Way' - passing, moving and pressing the opposition into submission, as was the case at Fulham on Monday.
'Very early on we knew Kenny was the right person,' said Comolli. 'Along with Steve, we knew we had the right coaching staff behind Kenny and we wanted to make sure that he had the right support, the players and the right basis. I talked in January about playing with style and attacking football. That is exactly what we have seen. I don't think there is anyone better than Kenny to say what the identity of the club is about. We've seen exactly what we thought we would see.
'That's why we looked nowhere else and spoke to nobody. I was quite surprised there was so little speculation and nobody linked with the job. The reason was that it was a no-brainer.'
If Dalglish looked a haunted soul when he resigned in February 1991, the man in the smart shirt and trousers who jokingly complained that he will now have to give away his golf clubs clearly has a renewed zest for life.
Some questioned in January why Dalglish wanted to put his reputation on the line again more than a decade after his last job, but the first day he stood on the pitches at Melwood with Clarke, Sammy Lee and the players answered that.
'I never had any doubt in my mind that once I got in, it would be something that I'd enjoy again,' he explained. 'So I don't think it ever crossed my mind that the decisive factor ( in getting the job permanently) was going to be anything other than results.
'The best way to get results is to get great people working with you and that's what we did. You identify your faults and bring in someone that's better than you at what you can't do. Stevie and Sammy are much better at what they do than what I could do for them. I'm absolutely delighted to be given the opportunity to help the club and push it forwards.'
When he was first appointed in June 1985, Dalglish went on to win three league titles and two FA Cups but the task now is considerably different, given the change in football's landscape. There is, however, one thing still the same as it was 26 years ago - the will to win.
'You feel very humbled and proud to be asked back,' added Dalglish. 'The place is much more stable than it was before, the supporters have got a smile on their faces and we want to keep the smile there for as long as we can. Everyone is pointing in the same direction.'