Exclusive: Club Legend Alan Kennedy Has a Clear Message for Liverpool's New Recruits

Liverpool legend Alan Kennedy believes the Premier League champions have made a real statement of their desire for more titles by making sure star players Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk stay put.

Egyptian international hitman Salah signed a new two-year deal to stay at Anfield after bagging a stunning 29 goals and providing 18 assists during a season to savour.

And talismanic Dutch skipper Van Dijk also committed his future to the club for a further two years after Arne Slot’s all-conquering side cruised to an impressive 19th top-flight title and the first since 1989-90.

“Without a doubt they have been the cornerstone of the team, they have both been magnificent,” stressed Kennedy, speaking exclusively to SportsBoom.com. 

“You have to have a leader and Van Dijk has been a brilliant leader of all the players."

“Okay, he stands at a 6ft 5” tall, but what he has done on the pitch is really impressive. He’s a determined player, he’s the perfect player for Liverpool."

“You have to look at the character of the player – and Van Dijk has it all."

“It’s important you sign the right characters, that you want – and in Mo Salah and Van Dijk, they have two great winners."

“Mo Salah is a winner, but if you’re not a winner don’t bother coming. Those two players have set the standard."

“But you’ve got to keep that standard going now. You’ve won the league, so keep that brilliant standard going from the first game to the last game of the season."

“When I played many years ago we had winners, lots of them. That’s what you need to be successful."

“If you’re not a winner, well then don’t bother coming to Liverpool. That’s what the club is made of.”

ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER

Former England international Kennedy enjoyed an illustrious career at Anfield, winning ELEVEN trophies during a stellar nine-year spell with the Merseyside club.

And the 70-year-old former defender, who won five league titles with the Reds, is backing the club to not rest on their recent success and make a successful title-defence the next time around.

Liverpool won the league title 11 times between 1973 and 1990, but last season’s success was their first Premier League title success since former boss Jurgen Klopp guided the to a momentous league-winning campaign in 2020.

“When you look back to the 1983-84 season when we won the league, we’ll all look back at that and how we wanted to repeat that success the very next season,” reflected Kennedy.

“Once you’ve won it once, for me, well you want to win it again the following season."

“I think you’ve got to set your stall out like that every time you are successful."

“It’s all about winning at the end of the day, whether that’s not playing great football or playing great football."

'EXPECTED TO WIN'

“One thing I’ve always said about Liverpool – even though it can be said for a few other clubs – is that you are expected to win every game."

“It will become increasingly harder to win the title, there will be more teams gunning for them."

“There’s a lot of teams at the moment that play a brand of football I do like, but it’s slightly negative."

“It’s as if they don’t want to get beat rather than trying to win the game."

“A lot of them don’t want to get beat, but you’ve got have a reason to be out there."

“You’ve got to have a determination that others haven’t got."

“Okay, you can play all the nice football – and teams do that – but they don’t win the game."

“They might draw or lose out, so the most important thing which Liverpool have achieved – whether that’s under Klopp or Slot – is to win games."

“They’ll be desperate to win the league again this season and, if they show that winning mentality, then they can win it again.”