Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish is confident his side will be fully focused on the task when they host Brighton in the FA Cup fifth round.

Dalglish: Focused on FA Cup tie

Last month the Reds suffered a 3-1 Premier League defeat at Bolton days before the second leg of their Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester City.

If it appeared that Dalglish's players' minds had not entirely been on the job at the Reebok Stadium, the Scot insists there is no danger of that being the case for the clash with the Seagulls, which comes a week ahead of the Wembley final against Cardiff.

"There's no-one here who enjoyed what happened at Bolton and I wouldn't see any reason why anyone would want to repeat that," Dalglish said.

"Every one of them wants to get into the next round but they can't expect that if they repeat the Bolton performance.

"I think they have got that Bolton game out of their system now. If they don't play as well as they're capable of it's not because the final is coming the following week.

"The target for us is to progress into the next round of the FA Cup."

Dalglish feels the FA Cup has been "undermined" over the last few seasons but wants to make it clear that Liverpool are taking it seriously.

"The competition has been a bit undermined in recent years, to be perfectly honest," he said.

"For us, it's a pride you take in your football club. If you're playing a game you want to win it.

"Every game we have played this season in every competition we have taken very seriously."

Dalglish says he has no idea what his team for the Carling Cup final will be yet and has stressed that the Brighton game will be a real opportunity for players to stake a claim for a place in the side at Wembley.

"Every day in training if someone does well, or in any game, it never does them any harm," Dalglish said.

"If someone plays well against Brighton it gives you a problem for the team the following week.

"I've not got any idea what my team will be for Sunday, let alone a week on Sunday.

"Everyone is fighting for places. We've not got any great injury problems so everyone is vying to play.

"The most important thing for us is the strength of the squad we have and then it's a problem for us - or myself - to pick a team.

"We will consider every single one of them. They should just relax and play."

Sunday's clash with Gus Poyet's Championship outfit could see Liverpool midfielder Maxi Rodriguez make his return to action.

Rodriguez has not featured since the FA Cup fourth-round victory over Manchester United at the end of January due to a foot problem, but should be fit for selection.

Dalglish has indicated that young defenders Jon Flanagan and Jack Robinson may come into his thinking for the tie.