Kenny praise for quartet
Kenny Dalglish has praised the attitude of the senior Liverpool players who helped the reserves to a resounding 5-1 success over Sunderland on Tuesday.
Jay Spearing, Sebastian Coates, Jon Flanagan and Danny Wilson all lined up for Rodolfo Borrell's second string at the Academy, with each completing the 90 minutes.
As Dalglish watched on from the sidelines with Steve Clarke, Spearing hit the back of the net twice while Coates also helped himself to a first goal in red. Nathan Eccleston completed the rout with a late brace.
Afterwards, the boss was eager to praise the application of the quartet - and believes they will have benefitted from the run out.
"They applied themselves very well and they will be better for getting 90 minutes," said Dalglish.
"They need to play games and it was good for them to be involved. It's better for them than training.
"Some people look at it as a form of punishment asking them to play for the reserves but that's certainly not the case.
"It was a necessity and it's important we give everyone opportunities to play matches.
"For the likes of Seb and Jay, it gives them the chance to get match fit and they did well. We need a strong squad with players who are ready to step in when they're needed."
Meanwhile, Dalglish admits he is delighted with the options he has at his disposal in the right-back position.
Glen Johnson, Martin Kelly and Flanagan are all vying for the berth and the manager is pleased with the competition for places within the squad.
Dalglish said: "We are lucky we have the three of them. It's a very pleasant problem. We have three boys who are very capable of playing at right-back. We have an England international playing there at the moment.
"It's brilliant for us. Kells played at centre-back for the (England) U21s and that's where he started here, that's where he set out to be and maybe that's where he will go back to.
"The two goals Martin got for the U21s will not do him any harm. It will give him a greater appetite to play here, we know he has done well for us.
"We don't leave players out because of their age, we leave anyone out because you feel it's right.
"Just because somebody is older, that won't affect us. You do have to keep the spirits of the young ones up and keep them going."