Dalglish deserved more time at Liverpool - John Scales
The 45-year-old former Reds defender suggests that Brendan Rodgers
and Roberto Martinez could be in the frame to replace the Scot after his
sacking on Wednesday
EXCLUSIVE
By Rob Stewart
Former Liverpool defender John Scales has admitted that he is still shocked by the sacking of Kenny Dalglish and has insisted that the Scot deserved longer to invigorate the Anfield club.
Scales spoke out as the Reds begin searching
for their fourth manager in two years after Dalglish paid the price
after a disappointing league campaign that saw the club finish behind
Everton in eighth place in the table.
"It is still a shock because I don’t feel as though Kenny was given enough time," Scales told Goal.com.
"Or was it always considered that Kenny was just going to assume this
role for a period of time in what was a very difficult transitional
period. Then it would not be that much of a shock to Kenny. But I think
it will have been a huge shock and he will really feel disappointed.
"It is a difficult situation. It was a surprise in many ways and not a
surprise in others that Kenny was sacked. As a former Liverpool player I
know that he occupies a unique place at Liverpool and it is sad that he
only got 18 months to do the job and he will be very frustrated that he
has not been able to see that through."
Dalglish’s second spell as manager was brought to an end after
Liverpool ended up with their lowest points tally in almost six decades
in the league.
"It is a club that has had decidedly mixed fortunes this season," Scales added.
"It has also won a trophy which was fantastic and reached the FA Cup
final and produced some great performances but on the other hand there
were just six home wins in the league which was a very disappointing
return and the worst league campaign since the 1950s and were well
adrift of even the Champions League places.
"But I honestly felt Kenny would get next season to see that these
players who had been brought in where settling down and starting to get
some form and get really acclimatised to what it is like to play for
Liverpool Football Club."
"The big question for me is where do Fenway Sports Group go from
here? What is their ambition and what are their resources? For me those
are the key questions. It is all well and good saying you are going to
get someone in and it will be a long-term project and then sacking
someone," he continued.
"Do they want the step-up to be a quick process which means bringing
in a very experienced manager who they will throw a lot of money at? Or
do they want a young manager with a long-term objective who buys into
the philosophy that would take Liverpool in a slightly slower direction
and build it differently?
"We don’t know. Only Fenway Sports Group
will be able to answer that. So it is a case of do you go for a big-name
manager and give him the transfer budget that he will effectively
demand so the club supports him in a major re-building process or do you
go with someone like a Brendan Rodgers or a [Roberto] Martinez or
whatever and they buy into building the team over a three-year period?
"That is the conundrum - we don’t quite know how they will tackle the
appointment of a new manager. It is difficult to guess where they are
coming from.
"The stadium issue is a problem and is something that needs to be
addressed. Are they going to re-develop Anfield or build a new ground at
vast expense? There are a lot of difficulties. Plus there is no
communication director or technical director."
Source : Goal.com