Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish believes his side will not be distracted by next weekend’s Carling Cup final when they face Brighton in tomorrow’s FA Cup tie, Sky Sports reports.
The Reds were beaten last month against Bolton on the eve of their Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester City and Dalglish blasted his players for their lack of focus. The Scot insists that they will not put themselves in the same position and their focus will remain the same for both Brighton and their Wembley trip against Cardiff.
Dalglish said: ‘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. 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’.
Championship side Brighton could pose a threat to the Reds at Anfield and Dalglish is wary of the problems Gus Poyet’s side can cause. The Liverpool manager said: ‘ I don’t know what he will do here. They obviously beat Newcastle in the last round, which was a great result for them. They will come here, sit in, keep it tight and make it hard for us. They are a good footballing side too. We need to concentrate and not give them any presents.’
