Liverpool great Kenny Dalglish kept in dark over possible Anfield role

30 April 2009 22:30
Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, is believed to be interested in installing Dalglish, one of his predecessors and regarded as the club's greatest ever player, in an advisory role which would also allow him input into a revamped youth development structure. [LNB]The Spaniard has spoken to Dalglish about the position and said discussions between the two parties had been "positive" if not conclusive, intimating further talks would be held in the coming weeks. [LNB] Related ArticlesBenitez looks to Marseille's CanaGerrard return to lift Liverpool's title hopesHands up if you have O'Shea on your shirtLiverpool planning to lure former manager Kenny Dalglish back to AnfieldDirk Kuyt: Liverpool need a miracle to overhaul Man Utd in race for titleKenny Dalglish return to Anfield ideal for LiverpoolBenitez is unhappy at the performance of the club's academy and an overhaul of its staff, from technical director Piet Hamburg down, is expected this summer. [LNB]Dalglish has made no secret of the fact that he would be delighted to return to Liverpool "in whatever capacity" he could but admitted that, while any deal could have been "done and dusted" immediately, such was his enthusiasm for the project, he had not yet been made a formal offer. [LNB]"It would be perfect if it happened, a fantastic thing for everybody, but everything that can be said [at this stage] has already been said. I don't know how or when it came out but it came out too early," Dalglish said. [LNB]"When it came out everything could have been done and dusted in one go but it was just an idea."[LNB]Dalglish announced that Anfield will stage a Hillsborough memorial match on May 14 in aid of his wife Marina's charity appeal which is raising funds for a new radiotherapy unit at University Hospital in Aintree. [LNB]The Scot, a regular in the Anfield directors' box, will probably be present on Sunday to watch Newcastle try to halt Liverpool's Premier League title campaign and help their increasingly desperate struggle to avoid relegation. [LNB]Regardless of the result on Merseyside, Dalglish believes it is a battle Newcastle will win, but has warned that survival would be meaningless if there is not a radical overhaul at the club in the summer. He also had words off support for interim Newcastle manager Alan Shearer and the much-maligned owner Mike Ashley. [LNB]"I hope they stay up, because it would be great for Alan, and I think they will. If they win their home games, they will have 37 points and Hull, if you look at their fixtures, might only make 37 points too, in which case Newcastle have a better goal difference. [LNB]"Anybody who comes that close to relegation obviously has to have a rethink. To be fair to Mike Ashley, he has spent a lot of money and, whatever your opinion on how it was spent, he has certainly put his hand in his pocket. How they correct what has gone wrong, though, is up to them." [LNB] 

Source: Telegraph