The Merseyside chief believes the club’s hierarchy have proved their dedication by scouring opinion from rival sides on how best to run the operation at Anfield

Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre has revealed principal owner John W. Henry and chairman Tom Werner have approached both Manchester United and Arsenal in the past for advice on how best to run the club.

The 63-year-old American businessman took control of the club in October 2010, when Fenway Sports Group bought out Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

And Ayre has admitted that, although Henry and Werner have experience in sport with basbeball side Boston Red Sox, they are still learning about football and have sought guidance from rival clubs as a result.

“He and Tom are both very open in their approach,” Ayre told reporters. “They’ll contact David [Gill] at United and Ivan [Gazidis] at Arsenal – ‘What do you think?’ That’s healthy. Let’s get a rounded view of the sport and how we should be doing things.

“It’s better to have an owner who is taking a genuine interest and is well-informed, rather than someone who says, ‘I was successful in baseball, so I can do that in soccer.’ They both put a lot of time into the team and into the game. That bodes well for Liverpool.”

Henry has been criticised by some Liverpool fans for, as yet, not attending a game this season – although he was present at the Hillsborough memorial service on Monday – but Ayre believes the work that goes on behind the scenes is testament to his commitment.

He added: “As is always the case, the media then spun that into John Henry hasn’t been to a game and is losing interest. That’s nonsense. Tom’s been to quite a few and that’s part of them sharing that responsibility. It’s about them finding that balance. We don’t have to have John there for it to be a success.

“We speak every week. We have a management call. We talk through issues. John and Tom are very involved in that. That’s the way it should be. Of course, fans don’t see that. They just think he hasn’t been to Liverpool. But Tom has been to Liverpool.”

The right-back believes that the understanding he shares with his team-mate on the wing can cause problems for opponents, and praised the way he has won his place back in the team

Liverpool right-back Glen Johnson is enjoying playing alongside winger Stewart Downing, and believes the pair make a formidable partnership on the flank.

The 28-year-old has started 10 of the last 11 games with Downing, and has been singing the praises of the former Middlesborough winger, insisting that much of his team-mate’s hard work goes unnoticed.

“He’s been brilliant, I’ve always enjoyed playing with Stewart,” Johnson told reporters. “I’ve been a big fan of his for many years. We play well together and cause other teams quite a lot of problems.

“Stewart has been fantastic; his work-rate, the way he gets at players and defences. A lot of the time in football, a lot of hard work can go unnoticed.”

Kenny Dalglish paid £20 million [€20.4m] for Downing in 2011, but the England international failed to live up to expectation at Anfield and was even publicly criticised by current boss Brendan Rodgers earlier this season.

The 28-year-old has won back his place in the Reds’ starting line-up following a recent turn-up in form, however, and Johnson could not be happier for his team-mate.

He added: “Stewart did knuckle down, put his neck on the line and went for it. It’s great to see that now he’s getting the rewards and credit he deserves.”

The England international says that he has “loved every minute” on loan in east London but manager Sam Allardyce admits that a permanent deal will be hard to negotiate

On-loan West Ham forward Andy Carroll says that his future with Liverpool will not be resolved until the end of the season but that he has “loved every minute” in east London.

The England international joined Liverpool in January 2011 for a fee of £35 million from Newcastle but, after a tough 18 months, he moved to the Hammers on a temporary basis.

Initially he struggled in London with injuries and form but in recent weeks has become an integral part of Sam Allardyce’s team.

The 24-year-old told Sky Sports: “I’ve loved every minute the lads have been great. There are still a few games left [but] I’ve got to wait and see what happens.”

Allardyce added: “The implications of Financial Fair Play will take its toll, and that might be a case where it takes its toll.

“I’m not absolutely certain yet [whether we can afford Carroll] because our budgets haven’t been set yet, but it can be a deciding factor in terms of where we go and what we want to bring in next year.

“It makes our lives a little bit more difficult, but I can understand everybody wants a bit more financial stability. I can understand that but it doesn’t make my life any easier.”

Both were talking after the 2-2 draw at home to Manchester United on Wednesday night, and Carroll relished the physical battle against Rio Ferdinand and, in particular, Nemanja Vidic.

“It was a tough game,” he said. “We had our chances but we worked our hardest to the point that we deserved.

“It was a great tough battle I enjoyed getting stuck in giving and getting a few elbows.”

Carroll almost got himself into trouble with the referee after a minor with Wayne Rooney but the former Newcastle man dismissed that as “banter” before claiming that a heavy collision with David de Gea moments later was not intentional.

“It was a bit of friendly banter with me and Wazza,” he explained. “I just went for the ball that’s all it was. I was running straight in to get the ball and couldn’t stop when I was flying through the air.”

The Hammers took the lead twice in the match but Carroll admitted that their poor ball retention played into United’s hands, noting: “They came out and passed it well. We were sloppy giving it away for their goal.”