Kenny Dalglish laid into his players after their poor performance in Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat to Bolton at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday evening.

The home side swept apart the Reds, who never looked likely to get back into the game, despite Craig Bellamy’s first half goal.

The result continues Liverpool’s run of poor form and leaves them seventh in the Premier League, six points off fourth place, despiteChelsea and Newcastle Utd not winning this weekend.

Dalglish told reporters after the game, “The result is disappointing, but the most disappointing thing for me was that I don’t think we were ready to play the game.

“I don’t think the approach was correct and I don’t think the way we went about our work was correct.

“The foundations of the football club have always been built upon respect for other people and the philosophy that the next game is the most important one – not the one that is two or three (games) down the line.

“If they needed a lesson to be taught to them then today was it. If they think they can just turn up and get a result, not be as competitive and not match the opposition for effort and commitment then they’ve got a lesson today.

“If they’ve learned it then fine. Without trying to take anything away from Owen (Coyle) and the way Bolton played, we have to look at ourselves and see what we can do to try and prevent it from happening in the future. That’s what we’ll do.”