Roy Hodgson admitted he was thrilled with Joe Cole's competitive Liverpool debut after the midfielder played a starring role in the 2-0 Europa League victory over FK Rabotnicki on Thursday evening.
"His energy and enthusiasm tonight meant he had a really good home debut," the boss told reporters at a post-match press conference.
"Joe is desperate to play. He came here because he thought he might get the opportunity to start more games than he did at Chelsea.
"He is a very enthusiastic, effervescent footballer who the more he plays, the happier he is. He is the type of player who wants to play every minute of every game.
"Whether that is going to be possible is another matter, but it's a good quality to have."
A crowd of 31,202 turned up at Anfield to watch the Reds progress into the next round of the Europa League 4-0 on aggregate thanks to first-half goals from David Ngog and Steven Gerrard.
Hodgson admits he was taken aback by the turn out, but is confident those inside the stadium will have been impressed by the performance of Cole.
"I must say I am surprised by the size of the crowd," he said. "I think it is quite incredible that a tie, in which we won 2-0 away from home against an unfancied opponent, can still attract over 30,000 people.
"That is fantastic and it's great for me that Joe, on his debut in front of such a big crowd, has shown them they are going to get a lot of joy from him this season."
As he was in the pre-season friendly against Borussia Moenchengladbach, Cole was deployed in an advanced role just behind the main striker.
However, Hodgson believes the No.10 is versatile enough to operate in a number of different positions on the pitch that will benefit the team.
He added: "Joe can play a lot of positions but it is going to be a question of where we need him most and how he will fit in best with us and the rest of the players.
"When you have got a player of his quality, you work hard to get him on the field and you put him on the field in a position where he is going to best serve the team."
The game not only marked the Liverpool home debut of Cole, but it was also Hodgson's first outing as Reds boss at Anfield.
"It is certainly something I have looked forward to," he said. "It was nice to mark the occasion with a good performance and win. I am as happy as the players and hopefully the fans are."
Liverpool's margin of victory could have been much greater - although a flurry of missed chances meant the Reds were forced to settle for just two goals on the night.
Hodgson said: "It's enough. One more (goal) than the opposition is always enough.
"I am perfectly satisfied. I thought we were good in both games, and today in particular we played some very attractive football and created lots of chances - probably more than the scoreline would suggest.
"The important thing is we kept our discipline and way of playing throughout, even though the game was at times relatively easy for us. It's so easy in these games to lose your way.
"The players impressed me enormously with their discipline and continuing to play in the right way and creating chances."
The boss also had words of praise for Ngog, who played a key role in both goals.
After heading home an early opener from Cole's cross, the French striker won the penalty which was converted by Gerrard just before the break.
"Like the rest of the players, he was involved in a lot of goalscoring opportunities," said Hodgson.
"The important thing is he is up there to be involved in these opportunities. He was unlucky not to add to his tally on at least one or two occasions.
"Once again his work rate was very good and he provided the focal point for our attacks that players like Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard and Alberto Aquilani playing behind him need."
Liverpool will now wait 10 days before playing their next fixture - the Barclays Premier League opener against Arsenal in front of the Kop on August 15 - due to the international break.
Hodgson said: "It is frustrating, not just for me but for 90 per cent of my colleagues. In the Premier League there are very few teams who don't have a lot of international players on their books going away.
"Unfortunately FIFA set this date a long time back and we have known August 11 is a FIFA date. It is a bit unfortunate they have decided to start the league three days after that.
"In my opinion, it would have been nice if that could have been pushed back and we had same sort of time the teams in Italy, Spain and Germany have to prepare because their leagues don't start until after ours."
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