Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has warned his players that they could be dropped from the side if they fail to up their performances.

Dalglish’s men went down 3-1 at struggling Bolton on Saturday after a display with Dalglish described as the worst since he’s been at the club.Clearly frustrated after the game, the Liverpool boss said: “If that’s the level they expect this football club to play at, they won’t be here long.

“”The most disappointing thing for me was I don’t think they were ready to play the game.”"If they think they can just turn up and get a result and not be competitive and not match the opposition for effort and then they have had a lesson today.”"

If we have learned from it then fine but we have to look at ourselves – without taking anything away from Owen Coyle and the way Bolton played – and what we can do and try to prevent it happening in the future.”Liverpool are targetting a place in the top four this year of course, an acheivement they had in mind when they spent a considerable amount last summer.

This is looking further away than ever now though, with six points seperating them from 4th placed Chelsea.The performances aren’t exactly encouraging either, so Dalglish has a right to be concerned and his players need to respond to his criticism.

They don’t have to wait long for the chance to do this though, with the second-leg of the Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Wednesday.Liverpool lead 1-0 from the first-leg, so perhaps confirming a place at Wembley in a major final will boost the club going into the rest of the campaign.

As for Dalglish, he then spoke about how important it was that his squad were 100% focused on the next game

.The Scotsman continued: “The foundations the football club have always been built on is respect for other people.”"

It is built on the philosophy that the next game is the most important one, not the one that is two or three down the line.”

Liverpool will certainly hope for a response in front of their home fans against City on Wednesday, before an FA Cup clash with Manchester United at the weekend.