Exclusive interview of Gerrad Houllier

[Abs]

The sports forum has been dull recently, I am suprised that it wasn't updated during Bangladesh's test and ODI's against Zimbabwe in April.

Anyways, As the premiership season is gonna start, here's wot Mr Houllier has got to say bout LFC's performance:
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Gerard, how satisfied are you so far with the pre-season work?

We are neither behind schedule nor ahead of it. We have been doing exactly what we had to do. We had a hard training camp in Switzerland. We needed to work a bit differently than usual because we wanted to be fit for the beginning of August. That camp was concluded with a victory, using two different line-ups, against Bayer Leverkusen. After that we went to Singapore and Bangkok.


There has been a lot of travelling involved. How did the players respond to that?

Very well. I must say that in terms of professionalism and attitude they were fantastic. I think they were stunned by the response and the passion of the fans over there. I'm pleased they had that experience because it shows the responsibility they have to the fans. Now they know how popular the club is over there.


Clearly it hasn't been the easiest of pre-seasons.

We have worked hard. The day before the first game in the Far East we had a very hard training session, so I'm not surprised we struggled to win against Singapore. The second game was better, as was our opposition, because it was the Thailand national team. It was good to get our third win of the summer. We practically had two days rest after that before preparing for the tournament in Amsterdam. We had a good win against the full Valencia side in the first game. We were a bit lucky, I admit, but we won. The second match, against Ajax, was the type you sometimes expect in pre-season when you are not as fit as you want to be, and you make some mistakes. That probably accounted for our defeat over there.


You were quite critical after the Ajax game. What improvements still need to be made?

Firstly that defeat may not be such a bad thing. At some stage you need a bit of a reminder that there is still work to do. Sometimes as a manager you don't mind losing a pre-season game because it stops everyone getting carried away. As for improveme nts, we need to be able to sustain an hour and a half, which means we must still work on our fitness. Secondly, I didn't see what I like about Liverpool in the Ajax game. The biting edge and the fight to get things our way was missing. Against Valencia the Spaniards were passing the ball around and making us look ordinary on occasions. But we would not let them break us, and we managed to score a goal. We didn't play with the usual mental qualities against Ajax.


Are you still satisfied with the squad you've got?

Yes. I think we've got a good squad with a good bunch of players. It's down to them to keep the belief and the fighting spirit they had last season.


Does that mean there won't be more signings?

No, because I am working on various things.


Is any player guaranteed a place at Liverpool this season?

I have always said that football today is not a game about 11 versus 11. It's about a squad versus a squad. One of the main reasons we managed to do well last season was because we had a good quality squad. Now we have to keep that. We know what the backbone of our team is, but if you are asking me if someone is sure to keep his place I would say not really.


Togetherness has always been the message you have tried to convey. Is that still important to you?

One of the ingredients of our success was the team unity. The strong feeling of togetherness has been very important. Obviously you need team work, talent and all that kind of thing in order to succeed. But the team bonding here has been good. There has been a feeling of us all being in it together, and everybody has been ready to give his all when he was on the pitch. That feeling must remain.


If a player doesn't give you what you are looking for would you look to sell him?

No. First of all we would try to help him. This has happened in the past. When a player is going through a difficult period he needs the manager. The whole staff will sup port and help that player and try to get him right so his confidence and self-belief can return. That is unless he lets himself down. You see, if a player lets himself down he lets the fans down as well. My responsibility is to try and make sure everybody does the right thing for the club and for the team. If I know somebody isn't showing the right professional application or lifestyle, or isn't focused or committed, then I would be extremely ruthless. That's because I think he would be a cheat, both to the club and to the fans. There is no point saying you are playing for the fans if you don't do the right things. The fans expect you to deliver - and at Liverpool you have to deliver in nine games out of 10.


You have said that Manchester United start the season as championship favourites. Does that mean Liverpool have already thrown in the towel?

Not at all! If you look at the papers which printed this story and if you read what I said you will know damn well that I never mentioned surrendering or throwing in the towel. Three London newspapers picked up that line and tried to "stitch me up," probably to upset the Liverpool fans. I wasn't even playing mind games, as has been suggested. All I said was that I am a very realistic person. I am not a dreamer. I am building for something at Liverpool and when you build you gradually go up. Over the last few seasons we have finished with 64 points, then 67 and last season we totalled 69. We want to improve on that this season. But at the same time you have to look at your opponents, which means people should not get too carried away just because of what we achieved last year. Everything has to be put in perspective. Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham have spent a lot of money. United, who are the champions, have spent over £40m on just two players. I was making the point that winning the championship will probably be as difficult as it was before. It's up to us to give that little bit more this time. It certainly does not mean we won't be trying to win the title!


Liverpool supporters want you to say you are going to win the championship. But wouldn't it be foolish to make such a promise?

Listen. My team by and large is still a young one. Those players need to build on the experience of last season in order to continue being successful. What I can tell you is that they will try to win every game of the season.


Next week you have a Champions League qualifier. After all the efforts to finish third last season wouldn't it be devastating if you didn't make it to the group stage?

I'm not going to put that kind of pressure on my players. We have done everything to get into this position and so I say: "Let's go for it!" We have got the chance to qualify for the group phase of this competition, and our attitude must be that we should go out and take it. Being inhibited or thinking of what would happen if we didn't go through is not the right way to prepare. The best way of getting through this obstacle is by doing what has been good for us, which is having team unity and mental toughness. Our attitude has to be positive. If we decide we want the result, we will get it.


Do you feel under pressure to get more success this season?

No more than usual. The pressure is on for every game. Every team wants to do well against Liverpool. Just look at Leicester last season. They beat us and then they didn't win for something like 10 games! But I believe teams will be even more motivated to beat us this time because of what we achieved last year.


What, then, is required of your players to combat that motivation?

Basically they must try to be on top of their game every time they play. That's what a big team can do. We have 38 league matches to play and, ideally, we have to be good in 35 of them.


After winning three trophies last season, how would you define progression this time?

I would like my team t o win another trophy because winning trophies is what Liverpool is about. To be assured of Champions League football you need to average two points a game, which means getting 76 points. We haven't managed to do that, but it would be a major step if we could do it this year. Finishing in the top two would be progress but, of course, we are going to try and win the championship. I can assure you that all the players want to do that.