AP

Kenny Dalglish has warned his players that their places in the Carling Cup final are on the line if they lose focus against Brighton.

Kenny Dalglish has warned his players that their places in the Carling Cup final are on the line if they lose focus against Brighton.

Liverpool will make their first trip to Wembley in 16 years when they meetCardiff next Sunday, but first they host Gus Poyet’s Championship side in an awkward FA Cup fifth-round tie.

Four days before Liverpool’s last big Carling Cup match — the second leg of their semifinal against Manchester City — they were beaten 3-1 by Bolton in the Barclays Premier League.

And Dalglish drilled home the message that he will not tolerate any repeats at Anfield tomorrow, saying: ‘There’s no-one here who enjoyed what happened at Bolton and I wouldn’t see any reason why anyone would want to repeat that.‘Every one of them wants to get into the next round but can’t expect that if theyrepeat the Bolton performance.’

Dalglish castigated his squad’s attitude after that dismal outing last month, which he cites as the worst in his second tenure at the club.‘I think they have that (Bolton display) out of their system now. If they don’t play as well as they’re capable of it’s not because the final is coming,’ Dalglish added.

There are several players who are almost guaranteed to start at Wembley, such as goalkeeper Pepe Reina — who has played every minute of every game since Dalglish returned as manager in January 2011 — captain Steven Gerrard and controversial striker Luis Suarez.

Yet there are still a number of spots up for grabs, most notably in midfield. Although the influential Brazilian Lucas is out for the season after injuring his cruciate ligament, as many eight players are vying for three or four roles.

Last summer’s big money signings Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing and Charlie Adam are not guaranteed starters, while Craig Bellamy is favourite, ahead of £35million striker Andy Carroll, to support Suarez.

Typically, Dalglish is not looking further than the game with Brighton, whom Liverpool beat 2-1 in the third round of the Carling Cup in September with goals from Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt at the Amex Stadium.

But the 60-year-old has made it clear the incentive is there for anyone to make a late, compelling case to be considered for Wembley.

‘Every day in training if someone does well, or in any game, it never does them any harm,’ said Dalglish, who is bidding to steer Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2006.

‘If someone plays well against Brighton it gives you a problem for the team the following week. I’ve not got any idea what my team will be for Wembley.‘The target for us is to progress into the next round of the FA Cup. We are in a better position than we were a year ago — we were out of the FA Cup, out of the Carling Cup and tailed off in the league.‘Now we’re four points off fourth spot, the fifth round of the FA Cup is coming up and we are in theCarling Cup final. We still have an awful lot to play for.’ – Daily Mail