Kenny Dalglish admits 5-1 win over Oldham Athletic 'flattered' Liverpool

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has expressed his delight after putting five past Oldham Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup, but admits the scoreline was too flattering on his side’s part.

Robbie Simpson gave the visitors a shock lead at Anfield with a stunning strike, before goals from Craig Bellamy, Steven Gerrard, Jonjo Shelvey, Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing wrapped up a 5-1 victory for the Reds.
Dalglish told reporters: 'The scoreline was a bit flattering, really. Oldham did their club proud, did their manager proud. They created a couple of threatening situations for themselves, especially in the first half.
'Getting back as quickly as we did with the equaliser was a great help, but I think it was important for us to give the players who haven’t had much time [on the pitch] than the others, to give them a run out as well. Fabio [Aurelio] got his first 60 minutes of the season I think.
'For us there were a lot of positives coming out of today’s game; Stewart Downing scoring, big Andy [Carroll] getting a goal, Jonjo [Shelvey] scored, Steven [Gerrard] with a penalty. A few positives, but I don’t think the scoreline represents the distance between the two teams.'
The Scot also reiterated the need for his squad to gain full fitness and acknowledged the importance of games like this to help players on their way to achieving 100 per cent.

He added: 'We’ve always said the most important part of a football club is the quality of the squad and I’ve got to give them games and every single one of them will be better for it.
'It showed I think that they need the game, there was nothing wrong with their application to the game, but we did lose a goal. You can train as much as you want, but can’t replicate what happens on a football pitch.'
Bellamy showed his frustration after being taken off with 15 minutes left to play, but his manager underlined the need to save his legs for the next game.
He said: 'I don’t know what he eats, but he comes flying in. He gets a bit frustrated coming off, but we’ve got to protect him as well.
'They love to play for 90 minutes and we’d love to have them for 90 minutes, but then we’d rather have them available for the next game, so we’ve just got to babysit him.'
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