Dalglish ready for crucial times

Published Sep. 17, 2010 9:17 a.m. ET

foxsports

The club won their last league title in 1990 under the Scot's leadership but since then they have seen Manchester United assume their mantle and draw level on a record 18 titles. Sunday's meeting at Old Trafford gives the current side a chance to prove that they are a match for their arch-rivals and Dalglish believes the gap between the two is not as great as is perceived. "I honestly never thought the club would go so long without winning the championship," said the former player and manager. "When you look back it is hard to believe they have. I suppose you should look back and say 'look at the amount we won and what we won'. "But to think 1990 was the last championship we won, I don't think many people would have believed you if you had told them that back then. "It is just a fact of life. It is not anyone else's fault bar our own. "We just have to get ourselves back up to the mark and get close and get back to where we should be. "Two years ago I thought 'this is it' when we ran Manchester United really close (finishing second with a record points haul) and we were full of optimism the following season but unfortunately it never happened. "Everyone has hiccups in their history and this might just be a little bit we are going through with the transitional period but I don't think that will last too long." Dalglish believes the key factor in the club's revival is the sale of the club. The process is still ongoing after current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett opted to put Liverpool on the market in April following a tumultuous three-year reign. There is still no definitive end in sight to the saga and Dalglish believes until that is concluded the club will not be able to move on properly. "I think we will be all right. It is a transitional period and it is how we come out of it," he added. "I think we will be out of it sooner rather than later. There is the issue of the club being sold; George and Tom put it up for sale and someone's got to buy it. "Hopefully that will be done quickly and the quicker that is done the more stability there will be in the club. "I think Roy Hodgson will bring stability in a footballing sense but in the financial and business sense that will be dictated by the sale of the club, but the commercial department is unbelievably successful. "The sale of the club will just kick it on that bit more and once everything in place we will be that much stronger. "It is a crucial time but it will sort itself out and we'll move onwards and upwards and get bigger and better and stronger." There have been suggestions that, with an October deadline looming for Hicks and Gillett to repay or refinance their loan with the Royal Bank of Scotland, the club could go into financial freefall if a deal is done. However, Dalglish rejected suggestions Liverpool could end up like Leeds or Portsmouth. "I'm not trying to be arrogant or complacent but that will never happen here - the people will not allow it," he added.