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• ‘We have to encourage him and try to give him confidence’
• ‘He is still very young and we have to give him time,’ says Leiva

Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has sprung to the defence of new £16m signing Jordan Henderson by telling critics the England Under-21 international must be given time to settle in.

“I don’t blame the young players because I’ve been in their place for a few years,” said the Brazil international.

“He is English and knows the Premier League but to come to such a big club like Liverpool is really hard. I think he has played well and sometimes you get confidence when you get more minutes and understand the role you have to do.

“We have to encourage him and try to give him confidence to keep improving,” he added.

Leiva was also convinced that Henderson would benefit from being given a chance to grow at the club: “We can see he has potential to be a good player but he is still very young and we have to give him time and be patient and I am sure he will be a good player,” he said.

“Everyone has their own opinions and character but we can see in the training sessions he likes to work and that is the main thing. When you work hard the opportunities will come and he will be ready to take them. Don’t rush him a lot, give him time to settle and I am sure he will be a good player in the future,” concluded Leiva.

Liverpoolguardian.co.uk

• Liverpool manager says Henderson should not be heckled
• Luis Suárez has returned to training following Copa América

The Liverpool manager, Kenny Dalglish, insists Sunderland fans should not give Jordan Henderson a rough ride in Liverpool’s opening Premier League fixture this weekend. The midfielder left the Black Cats for Liverpool this summer and Dalglish says his former club have to be “philosophical” about the move.

“Jordan is one they’ve lost,” Dalglish told the Liverpool Echo. “He’s a good player who they would have been understandably reluctant to let go. But sometimes as a manager you’ve got to be philosophical and say if a player wants to go we should let him leave. I don’t think [Sunderland fans] will have any animosity towards Jordan. Sunderland will be a difficult fixture. There’s been a major turnaround of players there over the summer.

“We’ll need to do a bit of revision and see which players Steve has brought in and let go. Their team will be very different to the one we faced back in March.”

Luis Suárez has returned to training after being given an extended break following Uruguay’s involvement in the Copa América and is in contention for the starting line-up on Saturday.

Suárez could partner Andy Carroll, who Dalglish says has recovered from the injury that affected him last season. “Andy’s injury meant he was only able to train at 100% on rare occasions last season. He even played in some games when we knew he wasn’t going to be at his best. Now he is fully over that knock and has been able to do a lot more on the training field in pre-season. That’s showed in the games he has played over the last few weeks. He’s fitter and scoring some goals.”

The Sunderland left-back George McCartney has agreed a season-long loan deal with his former club West Ham United. The 30-year-old spent two years with the Hammers between 2006 and 2008 with spells at Sunderland either side of that. McCartney made 71 appearances for West Ham during that time, and is happy to become Sam Allardyce’s sixth summer signing at Upton Park.

LiverpoolKenny DalglishSunderlandTransfer windowguardian.co.uk

• ‘It has been difficult this season,’ says Cole
• Harry Redknapp reported to be interested

Joe Cole has conceded his long-term Liverpool future is in doubt eight months after arriving at Anfield on a four-year contract worth £90,000 a week.

The England international has endured a difficult time since leaving Chelsea on a free transfer and electing to restart his career at Liverpool instead of Tottenham Hotspur. The first red card of the 29-year-old’s professional career on his debut against Arsenal set the tone for a campaign disrupted by injury and a struggle to adapt to a left-midfield role under Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish.

Cole made only his 17th start for Liverpool in the deserved defeat by Braga in the Europa League on Thursday. When asked if he believed he would still be at Anfield next season, with Harry Redknapp reportedly still interested in bringing the midfielder to White Hart Lane, the Liverpool player was noncommittal.

“It has been difficult this season,” he said. “I find myself playing these Europa League games trying to catch up but I am still nice and positive, still myself. I know what a great job it is playing football for a living but what will be will be. Of course I still think I can make it here. There’s nothing stopping me but I’ll just take it day by day, step by step and we’ll see where we go. I am happy, I like the lads, I like the training now, the manager has come in and been a breath of fresh air.

“Do I think I made the wrong decision to come here? As I say, it’s day by day. But I’m proud to play for Liverpool. I am working hard every day and enjoying myself. So personally I will just keep going, keep working hard, doing my best and enjoying my football. It was nice to play 90 minutes in Braga. We’ve got good players, the club is looking really positive, going in the right direction and I am proud to be part of it.”

Dalglish admitted Liverpool were fortunate to leave Portugal with only a one-goal deficit after a performance that prompted his first public criticism of the team since returning to the club. “We know one goal in our last five away from home in Europe isn’t good enough,” said Cole. “We are still well capable of going through but it will be a tough night next week.”

Regardless of his own position at Liverpool beyond this summer, and despite the setback in Braga, Cole believes the club have the managerial team in place to move forward under Dalglish.

“I just think we have the right man here in Kenny, the fans love him,” he said. “Damien Comolli’s come in and brought in some fantastic players while I know Steve Clarke from Chelsea and I don’t think there is a better coach around. You can just feel this club’s going in the right direction but for me I will just take it day by day.”

Joe ColeLiverpoolAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk