Kenny Dalglish is celebrating the end of Liverpool’s six-year trophy drought, hoping it is the start of another glorious era for the Merseyside giants.

Less than 14 months after Dalglish answered the SOS call of owner John Henry, the Scot guided Liverpool to a Carling Cup triumph over Cardiff at Wembley.

Liverpool had to come from behind before drawing 2-2 and then survive the shock of failing to convert their first two penalties in a shootout that saw them squeeze home 3-2 on Sunday.

Silverware is now back on the sideboard and Dalglish intends it to remain there.

“We don’t want to stop here, we want to keep going. It (Liverpool) means an awful lot to a lot of people,” he said.

“All we do is try to make them as happy as we possibly can. Hopefully it makes up for some of the days when we have not been able to.”

After Martin Skrtel levelled Joe Mason’s surprise opener, Dirk Kuyt thought he had won it in extra-time, only for Cardiff to bravely rally and Ben Turner to take the contest to penalties.

Steven Gerrard was amongst those to miss but the fact his cousin Anthony failed at the last to give Liverpool the cup made it a bittersweet occasion for the Reds skipper.

“The game had to be settled some way and we feel for Anthony Gerrard, who missed the vital one that meant we won the trophy,” said Dalglish.

“We are delighted to have won the trophy. Throughout the whole competition, we have deserved it. We have played well and come through some really hard games.”

Dalglish refused to take personal credit for the transformation in Liverpool’s fortunes since he replaced Roy Hodgson.

And, whilst he accepted the euphoria at winning a trophy could inspire his players to more, the Scot insists nothing will be achieved without a strong team ethic.

“If you do something and you enjoy it, you are going to want more of it. It is logical. The idea six years ago was not to go six years without winning a trophy.

“We are where we are now because of the work everyone has done, not just me.

“The owners, the supporters, the players, everyone has chipped in.

“We have said that all along. The closer we are, the stronger we will be together.”

Cardiff manager Malky Mackay refused to dwell on the bleak outcome. Instead he heaped praise on his own players for the defiant manner of their display.

“The boys are disappointed but they have lost with dignity,” he said.

“We had belief we could win this game and to take one of the top teams in England to penalties makes me very proud of that group of players.”

Mackay reflected on the moment two minutes from the end of the game, when Kenny Miller turned to shoot inside the Liverpool box but missed, as the point when he thought the cup was won.

Instead, Cardiff had to drag themselves through an additional half hour, and the mentally draining pressure of penalties and now must pick themselves up for a Championship promotion fight.

Whilst it would be tempting to suggest Cardiff’s hopes may suffer as a direct result of Sunday’s disappointment, Mackay does not feel that is a fair assessment.

“Maybe if we had been beaten five or six, the question would have been valid,” he said. “As it is, I don’t think it is.

“We can take a lot of self-belief from getting to the final of a 92-club competition and taking a team at the top of the Premier League to penalties.

“We have 14 games to go and we are among 10 teams who can get into those play-off positions.

“We will patch up our squad and give it the best shot we have got from now until the end of the season.”