Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has vowed to help Fernando Torres emerge from his form slump as he heads to Blackpool on Wednesday night without suspended captain Steven Gerrard.
Torres has scored just six times in 22 matches and only once in his last eight games this season. Asked whether he is the man to revive Torres' season after taking over from Roy Hodgson, Dalglish said he would help where he could but insisted that Torres himself holds the key to a turnaround.
"In the games I've been in charge he has been brilliant,'' joked Dalglish. "It is strange when you talk about people of his calibre having a lack of confidence but at the same time he is still a top goalscorer and someone everyone fears when he goes on the pitch. Someone asked me if I have a magic wand for Fernando. I said I don't need one, he has got one himself.
"We will do our best to get as much as we possibly can from Fernando, the same as we will do for every other player. This club has never been about one individual, it has been about a collection and a team and we are a team. It is up to us to try to help Fernando as much as we possibly can and also help each other.''
Dalglish will hope his words about team over individuals ring true for the next three matches, when Liverpool are without Gerrard following his dismissal at Old Trafford in the FA Cup on Sunday.
"Any team which has Steven Gerrard in it is going to be much better than one without it,'' said Dalglish, who takes charge of his first Premier League.
"But we have to get on with it and the most important people for us are the ones which are available, not the ones who are unavailable because they can't dictate the result of games. We will concentrate on the ones we do have, without being disrespectful to the ones who are not there.''
Blackpool's 2-1 victory at Anfield helped push Liverpool into the relegation zone back in October and contributed to the club's worst start to a season since 1953-54. Dalglish watched that game from the directors' box. He admitted Liverpool were second-best that day and is keen to avoid a repeat at Bloomfield Road.
"They came here and deservedly won 2-1 but we are going to their place so it is all on us to get a result,'' he said. "But we have total respect for them and what they have done and the fantastic start they have had. On the pitch they have been fantastic and a breath of fresh air. I think they deserve fantastic credit for the way they have gone about their job. We have to be up for it to make sure we don't come away from Blackpool with the same result we had at Anfield - a defeat.''
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