Source: PA
Dalglish deflects `what if' talk
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has refused to speculate on what the club could have achieved this season had he been appointed sooner.
Sunday's 3-0 win over Newcastle lifted the Reds up to fifth - ahead of Tottenham on goal difference - and their highest place of the current campaign. Since Dalglish replaced Roy Hodgson in early January with the club in 12th place the transformation has been nothing short of remarkable.
The Scot has taken 30 points from 15 matches, with his unbeaten home record showing six wins and two draws in the Barclays Premier League. Such results point to the folly, albeit with hindsight, of overlooking the former player for a second stint as manager when Rafael Benitez departed last summer.
Hodgson was, of course, the choice of the deposed regime of Tom Hicks and George Gillett even though Dalglish had made himself available and some may argue even his six months in charge was too long.
But the current incumbent was keen to avoid getting into a debate about potential scenarios had he ridden to the club's rescue sooner than he did.
"I would rather the `What if?' was if I had never taken charge," he said. "Because it would have meant they (the players) were doing a lot better than what we were, still have had the same run and the club would have been more successful than what it is at this moment in time. That's the `What if?' for me."
