Houllier pledges four new faces

LIVERPOOL boss Gerard Houllier has promised four new players and no clear-out in the wake of the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.

The 2-1 defeat at Chelsea has cost the Anfield side around £20m but Houllier initially sees no further than replacing four players who are out of contract, even though there were suggestions that Emile Heskey and Jamie Carragher could also be on their way out. Patrik Berger, the club's longest-serving player, Vegard Heggem, Bernard Diomede and Abel Xavier will all be stripped from the Anfield wage bill.

The Frenchman explained: "I think we need at least three players. Patrik Berger, Bernard Diomede and Vegard Heggem are all out of contract in the summer. Abel Xavier has already left the club. We will need to replace these players." Berger, who has been at Liverpool for seven years, is likely to move back to Germany, having signed from Borussia Dortmund, or even his Czech homeland.