...from the press conference this morning...
He told a pre-match press conference: "Having Steven back is fantastic for everybody.
"We had a great result and performance at Molineux on Saturday and we've got a very difficult game coming up against Fulham on Wednesday, so for us to have Steven back on the back of the performance and result we got at the weekend is a great boost for everybody."
He added: "Certainly he's more influential wearing a red shirt more than any other colour, so we'll play him where we think it is best to play him. He is a fantastic footballer, he's served this club unbelievably well and we will certainly ride along on the back of that.
"Your captain being available after missing three games will be a fantastic lift for everybody."
As the man regarded by many to be the greatest player to have ever donned the red jersey, reporters were keen to quiz Dalglish on what qualities he believes make Gerrard a contender for his place at the top of the list of Anfield's all-time greats.
He replied: "He is a special person - he's not just a special footballer.
"The way he has served this club and what the club means to him - it is nothing short of fantastic what he has done for this football club.
"I don't have words in my vocabulary to be complimentary enough about Steven other than to say this club is much better off with him than it could be without him.
"What he's done for this football club, he deserves to be up there in the folklore and the history of the club. He is a fantastic footballer that we're very lucky to have at our disposal."
Dalglish told his pre-match press conference: "Glen Johnson has been fantastic in the left-back position in the past three games. I don't recall anyone going past him.
"He was also involved in the first goal against Everton and was involved more defensively on Saturday. He did really well.
"For me, playing at left-back, he's doing us a favour. It's not really his chosen position. But he hasn't said a word against it, it's been no problem and he's just gone out and played.
"That's great and I think it just reflects his commitment and his attitude. The fact he is playing there and doing so well is a great credit to him. Also, he'll be thinking that Martin has done well and it would be unfair on him to leave him out."
Johnson's switch to left-back has come as a result of Martin Kelly's imperious form on the opposite flank.
Dalglish admits he has been more than satisfied with the youngster's displays of late and has likened his impact to making a new addition to the squad.
"Martin's done very well for the club," he said. "He's like a new signing for the club because that's four on the spin he's played now. In every game he's adapted well so he's done enough to have played the four games. He's earned it and it doesn't matter what age you are, if you are performing you'll have a chance of playing. He's certainly deserved his opportunities.
"He's been there or thereabouts before. He's been out on loan and had a couple of opportunities. He is getting a good bit of help from people around and about him. But it is impressive when you come into a team that isn't playing as well as it can and you play as well as he has done."
Liverpool will head into Wednesday's clash with Fulham on the back of an impressive 3-0 victory over Wolves.
The Reds' final strike of the afternoon at Molineux saw Dalglish's men clock up a magnificent 31 passes before Fernando Torres killed the game.
It was arguably their best team goal of the season so far, but it came as no surprise to Dalglish who feels supporters are now seeing the results of the hard work they have been doing on the training pitch.
"It is pleasing when you score a goal of such high quality," he said. "Someone text me to say we had the ball for two minutes. That seems an awful long time to me, but 31 passes was great. It went up, came back and then went back up again. We got our reward.
"Sometimes you'd like to score ugly goals as well. You can't always rely upon goals like that or Raul's (Meireles) or the first goal where we had good movement as well.
"The desire to be as patient as that and still take something at the end of the move is great credit to the players. They all became involved in it and I'd have thought most of them had a touch of it at some stage.
"It's no surprise really because we know they are better than what they were showing and the best way to prove that is on the pitch.
"They did fantastically well on Saturday but we want to go on and win more matches now. We've enjoyed the victory and it was a good atmosphere on the bus coming back from the game."
Since taking charge, Dalglish has instilled a passion and desire that has resulted in an upturn in the Reds' fortunes.
He admits building the players' confidence has been a key issue in his first few weeks in the job and feels they can now look ahead to a brighter future - starting with another three points against Fulham.
"Confidence plays a huge part on any footballer's ability to play at the highest level," he said. "It doesn't matter what level of player you have got, you still need the confidence to believe in what you are doing.
"We'll play to our strengths and see where that takes us. We'll always respect the opposition and take them into account. We'll look at what they have to offer, but more importantly, we'll look at our own players and how they go about their jobs."
He added: "I expect Fulham to be very well organised. It's Mark Hughes's team and he will have them organised and disciplined. They will be very fit. It's up to us. The responsibility is on us as the home team to set the piece of the game. We will try and do that."
The boss was also quizzed about the immediate future of Ryan Babel after the Reds accepted a bid from Hoffenheim last week.
Dalglish said: "He's staying."
Asked to expand upon his answer, he added: "He's staying here." Ha
Torres struck twice in Saturday's 3-0 victory over Wolves at Molineux to take his tally for the season so far to nine in the Barclays Premier League and leave the boss delighted with his contribution.
"Certainly since I have come in here he has been nothing short of fantastic for us in the way he has applied himself in training and on the pitch," Dalglish told reporters at Melwood.
"Apart from his goals, he's worked tirelessly upfront to try and help us. I can only - and will only - assess what he's done since we've come in, and we've been absolutely delighted with him and the other players as well."
Dalglish believes Torres's form is indicative of the current mood amongst the squad.
And the manager is pleased with the determination and unity his players have displayed in attempting to raise their performances.
He added: "I hope his (Torres's) best is yet to come.
"We've done training the way we think training should be done. There has never been any doubt about any of the player's abilities here and there wasn't any doubt that they weren't doing as well as they were capable of doing.
"Fernando comes into the same bracket as many others - that they're doing better now than they were before and more like their old selves than they were before, which is a great credit to them.
"When things aren't going as well as they could do for a football club and for individuals, it's very difficult to turn it around - but they've turned it around and it's great credit to them."
Dalglish continued: "As I've said before, we stick as one. We need their (the fans) help at times and we've got to help them at times. If we go forward together, we should be alright.
"Together, we will move forward - as individuals we won't get anywhere, so we'll stick together as a unit and will concentrate on our football club and see what benefit that brings us."
He told a pre-match press conference: "Having Steven back is fantastic for everybody.
"We had a great result and performance at Molineux on Saturday and we've got a very difficult game coming up against Fulham on Wednesday, so for us to have Steven back on the back of the performance and result we got at the weekend is a great boost for everybody."
He added: "Certainly he's more influential wearing a red shirt more than any other colour, so we'll play him where we think it is best to play him. He is a fantastic footballer, he's served this club unbelievably well and we will certainly ride along on the back of that.
"Your captain being available after missing three games will be a fantastic lift for everybody."
As the man regarded by many to be the greatest player to have ever donned the red jersey, reporters were keen to quiz Dalglish on what qualities he believes make Gerrard a contender for his place at the top of the list of Anfield's all-time greats.
He replied: "He is a special person - he's not just a special footballer.
"The way he has served this club and what the club means to him - it is nothing short of fantastic what he has done for this football club.
"I don't have words in my vocabulary to be complimentary enough about Steven other than to say this club is much better off with him than it could be without him.
"What he's done for this football club, he deserves to be up there in the folklore and the history of the club. He is a fantastic footballer that we're very lucky to have at our disposal."
Dalglish told his pre-match press conference: "Glen Johnson has been fantastic in the left-back position in the past three games. I don't recall anyone going past him.
"He was also involved in the first goal against Everton and was involved more defensively on Saturday. He did really well.
"For me, playing at left-back, he's doing us a favour. It's not really his chosen position. But he hasn't said a word against it, it's been no problem and he's just gone out and played.
"That's great and I think it just reflects his commitment and his attitude. The fact he is playing there and doing so well is a great credit to him. Also, he'll be thinking that Martin has done well and it would be unfair on him to leave him out."
Johnson's switch to left-back has come as a result of Martin Kelly's imperious form on the opposite flank.
Dalglish admits he has been more than satisfied with the youngster's displays of late and has likened his impact to making a new addition to the squad.
"Martin's done very well for the club," he said. "He's like a new signing for the club because that's four on the spin he's played now. In every game he's adapted well so he's done enough to have played the four games. He's earned it and it doesn't matter what age you are, if you are performing you'll have a chance of playing. He's certainly deserved his opportunities.
"He's been there or thereabouts before. He's been out on loan and had a couple of opportunities. He is getting a good bit of help from people around and about him. But it is impressive when you come into a team that isn't playing as well as it can and you play as well as he has done."
Liverpool will head into Wednesday's clash with Fulham on the back of an impressive 3-0 victory over Wolves.
The Reds' final strike of the afternoon at Molineux saw Dalglish's men clock up a magnificent 31 passes before Fernando Torres killed the game.
It was arguably their best team goal of the season so far, but it came as no surprise to Dalglish who feels supporters are now seeing the results of the hard work they have been doing on the training pitch.
"It is pleasing when you score a goal of such high quality," he said. "Someone text me to say we had the ball for two minutes. That seems an awful long time to me, but 31 passes was great. It went up, came back and then went back up again. We got our reward.
"Sometimes you'd like to score ugly goals as well. You can't always rely upon goals like that or Raul's (Meireles) or the first goal where we had good movement as well.
"The desire to be as patient as that and still take something at the end of the move is great credit to the players. They all became involved in it and I'd have thought most of them had a touch of it at some stage.
"It's no surprise really because we know they are better than what they were showing and the best way to prove that is on the pitch.
"They did fantastically well on Saturday but we want to go on and win more matches now. We've enjoyed the victory and it was a good atmosphere on the bus coming back from the game."
Since taking charge, Dalglish has instilled a passion and desire that has resulted in an upturn in the Reds' fortunes.
He admits building the players' confidence has been a key issue in his first few weeks in the job and feels they can now look ahead to a brighter future - starting with another three points against Fulham.
"Confidence plays a huge part on any footballer's ability to play at the highest level," he said. "It doesn't matter what level of player you have got, you still need the confidence to believe in what you are doing.
"We'll play to our strengths and see where that takes us. We'll always respect the opposition and take them into account. We'll look at what they have to offer, but more importantly, we'll look at our own players and how they go about their jobs."
He added: "I expect Fulham to be very well organised. It's Mark Hughes's team and he will have them organised and disciplined. They will be very fit. It's up to us. The responsibility is on us as the home team to set the piece of the game. We will try and do that."
The boss was also quizzed about the immediate future of Ryan Babel after the Reds accepted a bid from Hoffenheim last week.
Dalglish said: "He's staying."
Asked to expand upon his answer, he added: "He's staying here." Ha
Torres struck twice in Saturday's 3-0 victory over Wolves at Molineux to take his tally for the season so far to nine in the Barclays Premier League and leave the boss delighted with his contribution.
"Certainly since I have come in here he has been nothing short of fantastic for us in the way he has applied himself in training and on the pitch," Dalglish told reporters at Melwood.
"Apart from his goals, he's worked tirelessly upfront to try and help us. I can only - and will only - assess what he's done since we've come in, and we've been absolutely delighted with him and the other players as well."
Dalglish believes Torres's form is indicative of the current mood amongst the squad.
And the manager is pleased with the determination and unity his players have displayed in attempting to raise their performances.
He added: "I hope his (Torres's) best is yet to come.
"We've done training the way we think training should be done. There has never been any doubt about any of the player's abilities here and there wasn't any doubt that they weren't doing as well as they were capable of doing.
"Fernando comes into the same bracket as many others - that they're doing better now than they were before and more like their old selves than they were before, which is a great credit to them.
"When things aren't going as well as they could do for a football club and for individuals, it's very difficult to turn it around - but they've turned it around and it's great credit to them."
Dalglish continued: "As I've said before, we stick as one. We need their (the fans) help at times and we've got to help them at times. If we go forward together, we should be alright.
"Together, we will move forward - as individuals we won't get anywhere, so we'll stick together as a unit and will concentrate on our football club and see what benefit that brings us."
