LIVERPOOL'S Dirk Kuyt today welcomed the return of Kenny Dalglish to the club and backed him to inspire the team to better results on the pitch.

And he said everyone at the club must take collective blame for the Reds recent run of poor form.

The right midfielder spoke of his sadness following the departure of manager Roy Hodgson at the weekend since taking over last July.

Kuyt said: "It is very sad that Roy (Hodgson) has gone because you can never just blame one man. We must all take the blame and perform better.

"It's disappointing to lose a manager like that but a very big plus that we can bring in someone like Kenny. He is a very experienced man and someone who can have a positive impact on the squad.

"The most important thing is to make Liverpool a winning team again."

Kuyt is looking to the positives and believes the arrival of Dalglish can inspire the Reds onto better times ahead.

He said: "Kenny Dalglish is a legend and a very important man for this club.

"I think it says everything about him as a man that he is here to help us and put us back where we belong."

Kuyt was part of the Reds team that was edged out to Manchester United in a controversial FA Cup Third Round clash at Old Trafford yesterday afternoon.

Liverpool had to cope with conceding a penalty in the first minute of the game before captain Steven Gerrard was sent off for a lunge on United midfielder Michael Carrick with an hour still to play.

Kuyt added: "We were very disappointed by our start to the game. It was a big decision by the referee, but these things happen," he added.

"I think we responded well and played some good football before we had the second disappointment when our captain was sent off.

"It was a big blow for the team.

"The lads stuck together after that and in the second half we tried everything to nick a goal. It was very difficult to create chances but we worked hard and showed good effort.

"We are all disappointed because we wanted to win but we can take positives from this and must now look ahead to Blackpool and Everton."