Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish hails ‘hat-trick hero’ Maxi Rodriguez

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has hailed winger Maxi Rodriguez after his hat-trick helped the Reds to a 5-0 Premier League victory against Birmingham at Anfield.

Dalgish, who brought in Rodriguez for the injured Andy Carroll, said: "Maxi is a very intelligent footballer. He’s not a direct replacement for Andy, but he’s got more goals than him in that one performance."

"Maxi has not played for a few weeks and came on and did a fantastic job for us. Joe also got his reward because he has trained well and he came on and got a goal. The joy the players got from Maxi scoring his hat-trick and Joe scoring reflects how close a group they are and that is great for the club."

"They are all playing for each other and the players are going to play better if they are confident and if they are happy going to work they will get better results," he added.

Liverpool remains sixth in the league points' table, four points behind fourth placed Manchester City.