KENNY DALGLISH believes Liverpool’s senior players have been lifted by the impact of teenage full-backs John Flanagan and Jack Robinson.
Flanagan should start for the third successive game against Birmingham City at Anfield today, while Robinson is set to be handed his full debut.
Both were rock solid in last Sunday’s dramatic 1-1 draw with Arsenal, and Dalglish is hoping for a repeat display.
“It’s more difficult for youngsters to break through these days, but their fortune has been we have had a lot of injuries so they have gone in sooner than they should have,” he said.
“You need a bit of luck in this life. Those two lads have had a bit of luck at the moment, being in the right place at the right time and being able to play football. And we’ve had a bit of good fortune, in that the Academy in the last 18 months has been really productive. It’s an opportune moment for everybody. They have come in and done themselves the power of good.
“Also, in a strange way, seeing some young faces in there has given the other first team players a lift.”
The belief Dalglish has instilled in his players was underlined by the Reds’ gutsy response to falling behind at Arsenal.
And the boss insists even those who have been on the fringes have contributed to the feelgood factor at Anfield.
“I had belief in them and they had to get belief in themselves,” he said.
“They’ve all been fantastic in training, their approach and their attitude.
“Signing Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll was a big thing in January. That lifted everyone.
“The attitude of the players who aren’t playing is really important and they have been brilliant.
“Most of them are quite forward players, apart from Christian Poulsen, and it’s difficult for us to get them a game because our injuries are at the back.
“They are deserving of a game because of their attitude and the way they have gone about their work.
“If we continue like that throughout the whole club then we’ll have a wee chance because the ones who are not playing, it’s more difficult for them.”
Meanwhile, Reds midfielder Lucas Leiva says the appointment of Dalglish as the Reds’ permanent boss is a formality.
The Brazilian said: “It is just a matter of time, he will agree this new deal. We will try to win the last five games, if we do that we will be helping him as well.
“Kenny is the key to keeping everyone together. We are together, more united. I feel the dressing room is much better now than it was before.
“The relationship is just not professional, we have become more friends than before and that’s helped a lot on the pitch.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool have refused to comment on reports they are close to signing a new kit deal with Boston-based Warrior Sports.
The Reds’ contract with adidas runs until the end of next season and it’s believed Warrior, a subsidiary of New Balance, are willing to pay an English record of £25m a season.
That would be more than double what the club currently pockets from adidas.
