I wonder what the Motherwell manager made of Liverpool’s latest loss to Blackpool.

Aside from the natural antipathy of a former Everton player, Stuart McCall will recognise the signs.

There will be a knowing nod at Kenny Dalglish’s record since returning to the helm. King Kenny’s second coming now reads played two, lost two – with the small prospect of a Merseyside derby at Anfield coming up tomorrow.

It’s very early days. Roy Hodgson has been gone barely a week so you can hardly expect a monumental shift in fortunes immediately.

On the plus side, at least Dalglish got Fernando Torres scoring again at Bloomfield Road. But Liverpool remain a bang average team with a couple of very good players swamped by rather more average ones.

No Messiah in the managerial hot-seat can alter that fact, however revered he may be by the Kop.

If Hodgson had still been in the dug-out against Blackpool, the team and their leader would have got pelters. Dalglish’s presence will at least ensure the fans remain onside.

McCall got that extended honeymoon period at Valley Parade. It was the same with Alan Shearer and Glenn Hoddle, legends at Newcastle and Spurs, when they stepped up from the pitch to the boardroom.

All had earned a special place in the hearts of supporters for their huge contributions to the club as players. None went on to succeed when they took on the job of running their team.

Dalglish, of course, has been in charge at Anfield before. This is not a giant first leap into management like McCall’s much-heralded return to West Yorkshire in 2007 or Shearer’s failed bid to keep the Toon in the top flight two seasons ago.

Liverpool’s problems will come as no shock to their new gaffer, who has watched them hundreds of times in his previous ambassadorial role.

As McCall admitted, everything at City was new and unknown. He had never appeared in League Two before, nor knew any of the players at that level.

He had to pick it up on the hoof and it took him a long while.

The emotional strain on McCall was enormous. I would guess it was similar with Shearer and Hoddle, because you’re trying that hard to succeed with “your” club.

It becomes more than a job and everything gets magnified, especially the feelings of disappointment and despair.

Dalglish was swanning it up in Dubai when he got Liverpool’s frantic call to ride to the rescue. Sun lounger was abandoned for dug-out; 24 hours later he was on the Old Trafford touchline watching his new charges concede a penalty before most in the ground had taken their seat.

And the strained expression on his face said it all. From that point on, there is no turning the clock back.

He couldn’t just nip back to the swanky hotel and pretend it was all a bad dream. Nor could he call on his own predatory resources to revive an attack that has forgotten where the goal is.

For the next four months, at least, Dalglish will be on the Liverpool case 24/7. Come the end of the season, the blame for his team’s shortcomings will be laid at his door as much as Hodgson. But one thing McCall can guarantee: his standing with the crowd will remain undiminished.

No amount of insipid Liverpool performances will take away what Dalglish has done for the club.

McCall will vouch for that unwavering support. Nearly a year on from his Valley Parade exit, there are no bad words.

It’s a touch ironic that City’s record at halfway under Peter Taylor is identical to that with McCall last season. Thirty points from 23 games and the team stuck in mid-table.

City fans quickly learned to separate McCall the manager from McCall the man and inspiration down the years. It will be no different at Anfield whatever the next four months bring.