Dalglish Would Settle for Ugly Liverpool Win
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish will be more than happy if his team maintain their ugly away form at Sunderland.
The Reds manager has been battling a frustrating home record all season and although last weekend's 2-1 defeat to Arsenal was their first loss, Liverpool have won just four of their 13 Premier League games at Anfield.
They have suffered six defeats on their travels but six wins and a draw means that 19 of their 39 points have come away from Merseyside.
Dalglish insists his team, who are looking to close the 10-point gap to fourth-placed Arsenal at the Stadium of Light, are always positive despite managing just 10 wins from their 26 matches.
"We don't change too much - we always go into a game wanting to win it. At home we've put in some really promising performances and not got the results we've deserved," he said.
"Maybe away from home we've had better results but the performances may not have been as pleasing on the eye.
"We don't change too much wherever we play. We always want to win the game and we'll always put a team out that we think is going to win."
Dalglish is sure his players, who have already won the League Cup this season, will bounce back from the defeat against Arsenal.
They outplayed the Gunners for long periods but, once again, failed to find the killer touch and ended up with a defeat.
As well as their League Cup win, which ended a six-year wait for silverware, Liverpool are in the FA Cup quarter-finals against Stoke.
But they are desperate to finish in the Premier League's top four, in order to avoid a third successive season outside the Champions League.
"There was a reaction right after the game in the dressing room. We knew we'd played really well and never got what we deserved from the game," Dalglish said.
"If we continue to maintain that level, we'll not lose too many games. Where that takes us, we'll judge at the end of the season."
The Liverpool manager is hoping to have captain Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson available again after the England duo missed the Arsenal game with hamstring problems.
Lucas remains a long-term absentee and Daniel Agger is facing several more weeks on the sidelines with a rib injury.
Martin O'Neill has challenged his fringe players to grasp their opportunity as the Sunderland manager deals with a series of injuries and suspensions.
O'Neill admits the absence of banned duo Lee Cattermole and Stephane Sessegnon leaves a big hole in his plans, with skipper Cattermole out for four games, and the formerly ever-present Sessegnon absent for three after both were sent off in the stormy Tyne-Wear derby draw at Newcastle.
Rather than reflect on what might have been, O'Neill sees it as a perfect chance for his back-ups to shine.
Fraizer Campbell and Jack Colback are favorites to come in, and Sunderland's Northern Irish manager said: "It will be a tough game and we're without two influential players into the bargain.
"But it means there's an opportunity now for other players to come in and stake their claim. I have a lot of decisions to make over the next few days."
Defender John O'Shea will play despite a broken hand, but Kieran Richardson is a doubt with a calf problem.
Source: Agence France Presse
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