Kenny Dalglish has rejected claims he is mollycoddling his underperforming players after Andy Carroll escaped punishment for a foul-mouthed tirade at his manager.
Carroll has been given the unqualified support of his manager despite a miserable return on his £35 million investment.
The 23-year-old repaid that loyalty with an outburst when he was substituted at former club Newcastle last weekend. The striker was not fined for his show of dissent, and there has been no public apology, with his manager saying the incident had been "dealt with".
"I've never fined anyone," Dalglish said. "He was unhappy we were getting beaten. Everything was dealt with on Sunday and I don't see the point in prolonging things. It was frustration with the result. It was nothing personal."
There are suggestions that Dalglish defends his players too much, particularly Carroll. "Is that a fault or a bonus?" the manager said. "I won't condemn a player in public and I never have done. If other people do it differently, that is up to them.
"If someone goes out and gives you the best they can, there is not a problem. If they are looking for direction or help, they will get all the help they want here, as long as they are 100% genuine. If they are not, there is a problem. But it won't be sorted out publicly. We will do it in private. We said that would be the case when we came in. We said that we wanted to go back to what it was before, the ethos and the principles."
Liverpool face Aston Villa at Anfield tomorrow needing to end a sequence of three consecutive league defeats.
Dalglish confirmed he will file a thorough review of what has gone wrong and how to correct the faults to owner Fenway Sports Group. "They will be kept up to date," he said.
Meanwhile, Dirk Kuyt's agent, Rob Jansen, has confirmed the striker could leave Anfield this summer - as reported in Thursday's Telegraph.
"Kuyt is considering his future," he said. "AS Roma could be an option. They are a prestigious club."
