LIVERPOOL owners Fenway Sports group last night sacked Kenny Dalglish after losing faith in his ability to deliver the progress they were looking for.

Just a month ago chairman Tom Werner, after relieving director of football Damien Comolli of his duties, had insisted the 61-year-old Scot had their full backing.

However, with the Reds finishing eighth, their lowest league position for 18 years, FSG took the bold and unenviable decision – ‘‘not reached lightly or hastily’’ according to a statement – to dismiss the Dalglish in the quest to regain Liverpool’s Champions League status.

At the start of the season principal owner John Henry had said a top-four place was the minimum requirement.

Just 24 hours after Dalglish had returned from a face-toface meeting with Henry and Werner in the United States the Americans brought his 16-month second spell in charge to an end.

Werner admitted Dalglish had done an important job in stabilising the club after they had sacked Roy Hodgson following a desperate six-month reign but they felt it was time to move on.

‘‘Kenny came into the club as manager at our request at a time when Liverpool Football Club really needed him,’’ said the Liverpool chairman.

‘‘He did more than anyone else to stabilise Liverpool over the past year and a half and to get us once again looking forward.

‘‘We owe him a great debt of gratitude.

‘‘However, results in the Premier League have been disappointing and we believe to build on the progress that has already been made, we need to make a change.

‘‘We are committed to delivering success for our supporters and our ambition remains resolute to return this great club to the elite of England and Europe, where it belongs.’’ Liverpool finished 17 points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham and they were actually closer to relegated Bolton in 18th.

Even winning the Carling Cup, their first trophy for six years, and reaching the FA Cup final could not ultimately save Dalglish.

His departure leaves the club without a manager, director of football (FSG’s preferred operating model), head of sports science or a head of communications – all of whom have been dispensed with in the last month.

Add to that they have never had a chief executive in place and not progressed the thorny issue of plans for a new or redeveloped stadium and it seems the owners have plenty of work to do this summer.

With the transfer window opening in two weeks, further complicated by the European Championships, their priority has to be to quickly find replacements for Dalglish and Comolli so the process of squad evaluation and strengthening can begin.

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has been linked with the post while former manager Rafael Benitez, who famously won the Champions League in 2005, reached the final in 2007 and consistently delivered top-four places, is still out of work and living on the Wirral.

In 2009 Benitez came within four points of becoming the first Liverpool manager since Dalglish in 1990 to win the title but he remains a divisive figure among fans and returning to another former manager after dispensing with one might smack of desperation on FSG’s part.

Despite coming up short in their expectations in the league Henry paid tribute to the achievements of Dalglish since he took over from Hodgson in January 2011.

‘‘He is in many ways the heart and soul of the club. He personifies everything that is good about Liverpool Football Club,’’ said the club’s principal owner.

‘‘Kenny will always be a part of the family at Anfield.

‘‘Our job now is to identify and recruit the right person to take this club forward and build on the strong foundations put in place during the last 18 months.’’ Progress had been made under Dalglish, who took over with the club dangerously close to the foot of the table, and just over 12 months ago he was given a three-year contract.

But after spending £60million on Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Sebastian Coates and Jose Enrique, he did not get the return he was expecting from his new signings as all struggled in their first season.

On the day he was sacked there was some irony in the fact £35million Andy Carroll, one of Dalglish’s first but much-criticised signings, was named in England’s Euro 2012 squad and Henderson was placed on the stand-by list.

The Scot’s view that winning one trophy and reaching the final of another was enough of an achievement to promote optimism for the future was not shared by the owners.

‘‘Of course I am disappointed with results in the league but I would not have swapped the Carling Cup win for anything as I know how much it meant to our fans and the club to be back winning trophies,’’ said Dalglish.

‘‘Whilst I am obviously disappointed to be leaving the football club, I can say that the matter has been handled by the owners and all concerned in an honourable, respectful and dignified way and reflects on the quality of the people involved and their continued desire to move the football club forward in the same way as when they arrived here.’’

THE CONTENDERS

RAFAEL BENITEZ
Former Anfield boss Benitez is the immediate front-runner following Dalglish’s axing and his return would be popular with the club’s fans. The Spaniard guided the Reds to the 2005 Champions League title and the FA Cup the following season but a subsequent barren spell and a seventh- placed finish in 2010 saw him leave the club. A subsequent spell at Inter Milan lasted only six months and he has been unemployed since.

ROBERTO MARTINEZ
Another Spanish contender, Martinez has won plaudits after leading Wigan to Premier League survival via a remarkable late-season surge featuring victories over Manchester United, Arsenal, Newcastle and, yes, Liverpool as they won seven of their last nine games. The passing football which has served Martinez well with the Latics and previously Swansea would also be popular at Anfield, while he fits with the Fenway Sports Group’s yearning for a younger manager.

FRANK RIJKAARD
The Dutchman turned around an under-performing Barcelona team, winning the Primera Division in both 2005 and 2006 to lay the foundations for the dominant team subsequently developed by Pep Guardiola. He has drifted away from the limelight in spells with Galatasaray and then the Saudi Arabia national team, with whom he failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.

BRENDAN RODGERS
Rodgers has been lauded throughout his Swansea side’s impressive debut season in the Premier League, which saw them finish 11th playing an enjoyable passing style. The step up to Liverpool would see him face a significantly higher public profile, though, and he would face scepticism from fans with bitter memories of Roy Hodgson’s unsuccessful spell after being recruited from Fulham.

PAUL LAMBERT
Like Rodgers, Lambert has won plaudits for guiding a promoted team - in his case Norwich - to a mid-table finish (12th) in their first season in the top flight. He moved to a bigger club when he traded Colchester for the Canaries in 2009, indicating his ambition as a manager, and could be in the frame for the Anfield post.