Newcastle United

Faustino Asprilla blasts Kenny Dalglish reign

By Jack Prescott, Rugby Editor | 28 March 2012

Former Newcastle United striker Faustino Asprilla claims that Kenny Dalglish "destroyed" the team when he was in charge on Tyneside.

Former Newcastle United striker Faustino Asprilla has claimed that Kenny Dalglish "destroyed" the team when he was in charge on Tyneside.

Dalglish, who took over from Kevin Keegan in 1997, was in charge of the Magpies for only 20 months before his dismissal.

Despite the optimism surrounding the Scot's appointment, Asprilla believes that he ruined the team's chances of silverware.

"When Kenny Dalglish arrived at Newcastle I had heard so many good things about him, and I could not wait to play for him," Asprilla told The Chronicle. "Anyone who achieves so much as a player like he did you would naturally expect him to do well as a manager.

"This was not the case. Within months he had the team playing a style that was alien to most of us and he started to sell some of our star players.

"It was a team that could have gone on to win the league, having come so close in 1996. But instead we were broken up and the dream faded. I was sad to see Dalglish destroy the team."

Dalglish went on to coach Celtic for a brief spell in 2000 before he returned to Liverpool for a second time in January 2011.