Dalglish: Wants no more slip-ups

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Kenny keeping Reds focused

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish insists his side have learnt their lesson and won’t lose focus when they host Brighton in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday.

The Reds welcome the Seagulls to Anfield in a bid to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition, with the game coming exactly a week before the Carling Cup final.

Dalglish’s charges sealed their ticket to Wembley having beaten Manchester City in the semi-finals last month, but not before the Merseysiders slipped up 3-1 at Bolton days before their second leg clash.

The Scot, however, claims the memory of the defeat at the Reebok Stadium is still fresh in the minds of his team and they know they can’t afford to waver from their immediate task at the weekend.

That being said, the Reds legend knows what victory in the League Cup would mean to his men and reckons every one of them will be playing out of their socks on Sunday to earn a spot in the showpiece.

“There’s no-one here who enjoyed what happened at Bolton and I wouldn’t see any reason why anyone would want to repeat that,” Dalglish said.

“Every one of them wants to get into the next round but they can’t expect that if they repeat the Bolton performance.

“I think they have got that Bolton game out of their system now. If they don’t play as well as they’re capable of it’s not because the final is coming the following week.

“The target for us is to progress into the next round of the FA Cup. For us, it’s a pride you take in your football club. If you’re playing a game you want to win it.

“Every game we have played this season in every competition we have taken very seriously.”

He added: “Every day in training if someone does well, or in any game, it never does them any harm.

“If someone plays well against Brighton it gives you a problem for the team the following week. I’ve not got any idea what my team will be for Sunday, let alone a week on Sunday.

“Everyone is fighting for places. We’ve not got any great injury problems so everyone is vying to play.

“The most important thing for us is the strength of the squad we have and then it’s a problem for us - or myself - to pick a team.

“We will consider every single one of them. They should just relax and play.”