Steve Clarke says his Scotland players will strive to raise the spirits of Sir Kenny Dalglish at the World Cup after the Liverpool and Celtic legend was diagnosed with cancer.
Scotland’s most-capped player and joint-highest goal scorer, Dalglish, 75, wanted to keep the news private but shared the update publicly after an “inadvertent social media post”.
“I am currently undergoing treatment for cancer,” wrote Sir Kenny on social media. “Unlike my mobile phone use, the treatment is going well.
“Ideally, this would have remained private because that’s the way it should be, but my useless technology skills have forced my hand.
“Obviously I did not mean to make this matter public so I would appreciate it if the privacy of my family and myself are respected.”
Clarke worked side by side with Dalglish at Liverpool and Newcastle United, and extended his best wishes from Scotland’s pre-World Cup training camp in Fort Lauderdale.
The national team face Bolivia in their final warm-up game before their opening Group C game against Haiti on the 14th and Clarke hopes the campaign will raise his former colleague’s spirits.
“It’s obviously come as a bit of a shock for everyone,” said Clarke. “But I know Kenny well and I’m sure he’ll deal with this the way he has dealt with every other difficult situation in his life and we all wish him well.
“Obviously he’s got a very important status with the national side. He’s the record cap holder and joint record goal scorer and he’s a Scottish icon.
“The whole country will be behind him and if we can do something in this tournament to make him feel a little bit better, then great.
“That’s what we will try to do – that’s what we want to do.
“I think, over the last seven years, we’ve helped a lot of people to maybe feel better about their country and better about the national team.
“So let’s continue that through the summer.”
Read more
-
Lengthy doc to answer age old question: What happened to Celtic icon George Connelly
-
Hampden, pitch invasions & 3 second celebration: Mulraney on World Cup & SFA plans
-
SFA chief on Steve Clarke's new contract and why he knows it's the right move
Dalglish earned 102 caps for the national team, scoring 30 goals in total, before employing Clarke as his assistant at Anfield and St James’ Park.
“We don’t speak regularly but we still keep in touch after we’ve had a game or whatever, there’s always a quick phone call,” Clarke continued.
“He’s been good for Andy Robertson at Liverpool in terms of his early years there, telling him what the club is about.
“But he has had a big influence on the careers of a lot of people and he certainly had an influence on mine. So, just personally, I would like to wish him well.”
Dalglish scored 167 goals in 320 appearances for Celtic between 1969 and 1977, winning four league titles and four Scottish Cups.
On social media site X, the Parkhead club wrote: “Wishing King Kenny all the very best as he undergoes treatment. Our thoughts are with him and his family.”
Signing for Liverpool for a British record fee of £440,000, he won three European Cups and eight First Division titles across his 515 appearances before he was appointed player-manager in 1985, guiding the Reds to two FA Cups and navigating the difficult aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.
He later went on to manage Blackburn – where he won the Premier League in 1995 – Newcastle, Celtic and Liverpool again in 2011-2012.
In a statement, Liverpool said: “The support, best wishes and love of everyone at Liverpool FC are, and will be, with Sir Kenny and his family. The club would also like to underscore his request for privacy moving forward.”
