Liverpool chairman Tom Werner remains convinced that Kenny Dalglish is the right man to bring trophies back to 
Anfield, following the Scot’s recent outburst against Premier League referees.
Dalglish’s impressive start to the season, which saw the Merseysiders take seven points from their opening three matches, hit a stumbling block at the weekend when they lost 1-0 at Stoke. Having spent over £50 million during the summer on the likes of Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam, Jose Enrique and Jordan Henderson, the result put an early dent on Liverpool’s plans to regain Champions League football.
Dalglish was extremely vocal in his post-match interview regarding the officiating at the Britannia Stadium, when Liverpool saw two big penalty appeals denied having had a seemingly soft spot-kick given against them.
The Liverpool boss commented on Saturday: “We would like to be respectful to referees – and I’d like to think I have been – but more importantly than being respectful to the referees is having respect for my football club. If I feel they are suffering in any shape or form I will need to go the same route other people go and see if we can gain some benefit from that. The first four league games have had contentious decisions in them and every one has gone against us.”
Dalglish is expected to escape any FA action for his comments, and clearly Werner had no issues with his manager’s conduct. Having given the Scot a new contract during the summer, Werner made it clear Dalglish’s position as Liverpool manager has only grown stronger during the opening stages of the new campaign.
“We are enormously pleased that he is our coach, he provides great leadership on the pitch,” Werner said. “I’ve been with him when he’s talking to employees and when he’s talking to supporter groups, and when he talks about Liverpool, this is a man who understands the club’s history and our relentlessness when we were winning and hopefully he will bring trophies.”
Key to Liverpool’s long-term success will surely be the long-expected extension of their ground capacity. The Reds have looked into building a new stadium or a redevelopment of Anfield, but Werner insists he is not considering a ground share option with neighbours Everton.
“There’s the possibility of building a new stadium at Stanley Park; the one thing I will say is that there have been rumours that we’re interested in the possibility of a share with Everton,” said the chairman. “I won’t ever say it completely, but our fans don’t want it so I think it’s a non-starter.”