Kenny – Pen not our problem

Kenny Dalglish insists it is not his concern how Sunday’s controversial penalty decision affected Sunderland following Liverpool’s 2-0 win at the Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats will be left disappointed after a dubious call by official Kevin Friend led to Dirk Kuyt’s opening strike from the spot.

The referee awarded the penalty after John Mensah brought down Jay Spearing, but replays indicate the challenge occurred outside the area.

Asked about the effect that decision had on the home side, Dalglish insisted he was only focused on Liverpool and what it had meant for them.

Reward

“I don’t know how the penalty affected Sunderland. Whatever it did to Sunderland was none of my concern,” Dalglish told Sky Sports News.

“It’s what it did to us. We just kept playing and kept defending when we had to defend.

“We tried to break as often as we could and we got a reward for that.”

January-signing Andy Carroll, making his first Premier League start for Liverpool, failed to open his scoring account, but Dalglish was impressed with his display after he played a full match against Braga in midweek.

“I thought it was a great effort for him to play 90 minutes on Thursday and 70 minutes here,” he said. “He’s not scored yet but he will score.

“You can tell he’s a threat, you can tell he’s a great asset for us. You can see from the way him and Luis (Suarez) linked up a couple of times there’s going to be a lot to look forward to.

“We’re delighted with the big man’s progress but I’m sure he’s pretty tired.”

Suarez was on target with the second goal for the Reds but suffered a groin injury late on to take the shine off his afternoon.

Dalglish says he is unsure over the severity of the knock, but admits it could rule the Uruguay hitman out of the upcoming international games.

“We’ll just have to wait and see,” he added. “He’s got a couple of games with Uruguay but they’re only friendlies so if he’s injured he won’t be going.”

Dalglish, who is contracted as manager until the end of the season, played down reports he has recently met with Liverpool’s American owners to discuss a permanent deal at Anfield.

Supportive

“I’ve met with the owners but there’s not been any details regarding myself and a contract,” he said.

“They’re fantastic owners, they were really supportive in the January transfer window.

“The club is more important than me. I won’t put anyone under pressure.”