New boss must show Reds progress

Liverpool's new boss will be given the time to build but must show progress on a top-four challenge, says managing director Ian Ayre.

Owners Fenway Sports Group have begun the process of finding a successor for Kenny Dalglish after he was sacked on Wednesday. While Ayre insisted no targets had yet been approached, the Reds have been given permission to speak to Wigan boss Roberto Martinez and it is thought a short-list has now been drawn up. Dalglish was dismissed because poor league results in his first full season led to an eighth-placed finish, which FSG felt did not represent significant steps forward, but Ayre says his successor will not be judged immediately on results. "The important thing will be to see progress and that means different things," Ayre said. "Everyone will want to see that we believe we are going in the right direction and are moving up the table, achieving more, playing the right sort of football. "As long as you believe week-to-week, month-to-month, season-to-season you are building on something then people will be given time. There is a difference between that and feeling you are not moving forward."