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LIVERPOOL FC boss Kenny Dalglish believes Stewart Downing will silence his critics and prove to be a big success at Anfield.

The Reds winger, who is set to line up against Bolton at the Reebok Stadium today, has yet to score or create a Premier League goal since his £20million move from Aston Villa.

However, Dalglish has no doubt that Downing’s talent will shine through.

“Stewart is a fantastic footballer, an England international, who made a big move in the summer to come here,” Dalglish said.

“This is a massive club, with all due respect to the others he’s been at. It’s going to take a little bit of time to get used to his surroundings, but we don’t have any change of opinion on him as a player from what it was before.

“He’s got more crosses in than anyone else, according to the stats. Our job as a team is to get in there and put them in the back of the net.”

FULL INTERVIEW

WHEN John Henry and Tom Werner were informed about Liverpool FC’s interest in Stewart Downing last summer they turned to the internet to find out more.

The Reds’ principal owner and chairman stumbled across a video on YouTube which grabbed their attention.

“There was some footage of Stewart where he is, from 30 yards away, kicking a football into five different trash cans and it’s brilliant,” Werner recalled.

“John and I said: ‘Oh my god, this player is brilliant, we’ve got to figure out a way to make a deal with him’.”

The American duo later discovered the footage had been doctored but the excitement at Downing’s arrival remained.

There were plenty of other genuine videos showing the England international wreaking havoc last season. He was Aston Villa’s player of the year, scoring eight goals and chipping in with a similar number of assists.

Yet six months after Liverpool splashed out £20million to bring the 27-year-old to Anfield the jury is still out.

Downing may have ended his drought in the FA Cup thrashing of Oldham but his long wait for either a goal or an assist in the Premier League this season goes on.

No player in the top flight has had more shots without finding the net. His tally of 45 includes hitting the woodwork on three occasions.

There’s no question Downing has had little luck with team-mates having regularly spurned chances created by his inviting crosses.

The fourth most expensive player in the Reds’ history looks in urgent need of a confidence boost but Kenny Dalglish’s belief in him is unwavering.

Rather than being disappointed with the winger’s contribution so far, the manager insists he has actually surpassed his expectations.

Dalglish says Liverpool need to start taking advantage of Downing’s promising approach play.

“For me, he’s better than I thought he was going to be,” Dalglish said.

“He’s a better footballer, he’s quicker than I thought – he’s quicker than Carra thought he was as well!

“Stewart is a fantastic footballer, an England international, who made a big move in the summer to come here.

“This is a massive club, with all due respect to the others he’s been at. It’s going to take a little bit of time to get used to his surroundings, which is only natural, but we don’t have any change of opinion on him as a player from what it was before.

“He’s got more crosses in than anyone else, according to the stats. That’s part of his job, and the other part is to put them in somewhere where we are going to score goals from them. Our job as a team is to get in there and put them in the back of the net.

“He can only do what he does, and that’s put some decent crosses into the box, and then we have to get on the end of them.”

Dalglish believes Downing has suffered at times as a result of being asked to play in a variety of positions.

Having been stationed on both the left and right flanks, he was handed an attacking central midfield role alongside Jordan Henderson in last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Stoke City.

It didn’t work with the winger hauled off just before the hour mark and replaced with Andy Carroll.

“I don’t think it’s been too comfortable for Stewart either because we’ve played him in three or four different positions,” Dalglish added. “Maybe we have to look at ourselves and say we have to be fair to him as well.

“You have to be patient with every new player who comes in. You have to be patient with the older ones at times as well, like we did with Stevie (Gerrard) coming back.

“Patience is important but the most important thing is having the ability to play and everyone in our squad has the ability to play.”

Downing will be out to break his Premier League duck at the Reebok Stadium today.

The Reds are looking to complete a fifth successive league double over struggling Bolton following their 3-1 win at Anfield back in August.

Victory would see Liverpool beat their away points tally for the whole of last season and Dalglish’s side have saved some of their best performances for their travels this season.

At Anfield, where visitors tend to sit deep, the Reds have struggled to break teams down, but on the road they have been handed more space in which to play.

“The home team always has the responsibility,” Dalglish said.

“If someone wants to come and play defensively, getting people behind the ball and putting a barrier up, then it’s up to us to break it down.

“We enjoy the same scenario when we go away. But I think in everything you do you need a wee bit of luck.

“Before Stoke we put five past Oldham and three past Newcastle, it’s just on the day.

“Last weekend was a game crying out for a goal and if we’d got that goal we would have got the three points. Stoke would have had to change their approach to the game.”

Bolton are second bottom having only picked up four points out of 30 at home this season and they have the worst defensive record in the top flight.

Dalglish has sympathy for opposite number Owen Coyle.

Having initially won widespread praise for the job he was doing with the Trotters, the Scot now finds himself under pressure.

“Whether it is unfair or unjustified doesn’t really matter, you are still going to get criticised – it comes with the territory,” he said.

“It has been difficult for Owen and Bolton this year but I am sure they will buckle down and get themselves out of the mire.

“You could see signs of a recovery in the result at Everton and they got through in the FA Cup the other night when they rested a few players.

“You get difficult periods in your career and this is one he just has to get through. I don’t think it reflects badly in any way on what he has done previously.”