Houllier hopes tide will turn heading into Mersey derby
If they fail to win at Goodison Park, it will be the first time in over 90 years that the club has failed to win any of their first four league games - back to the 1911-12 campaign. So it was not surprising that manager Houllier defended his much-maligned team and insisted: “This will not last.”
Liverpool have still not scored from open play this term and look ripe for the sort of hounding Everton delight in dishing out to their neighbours.
But Houllier, who could have Stephane Henchoz and Emile Heskey back from injury, said: “Scoring, for the moment, is a problem. But it is not something that is going to last.
“We will keep faith in what we are doing, and despite the criticism the players know we have improved our game, improved our defensive play and they know we can score goals.
“I would be more worried if we were not creating any chances. Now that would not be normal.
“We have created chances in each of our three games. The worry is that we just are not as clinical as we should be. You know very well that sometimes one goal can suddenly provide the lift and the change of fortune which people crave.
“When you are playing at the highest level, there are times when things get hard. It is not always a bed of roses. But the morale of the squad remains intact.
“We just feel that we are not being rewarded sufficiently for our efforts.”
Liverpool have lost only one of the last 10 derbies, and Houllier said: “This is now a blank period that will not last too long. We hear the criticism, and it is not even the end of August yet, but we will live with that. We see things said we do not believe are right, but we will rise above that.”
And Houllier refused to accept that there was a groundswell of Anfield fans increasingly unhappy with the way things have been going.
He said: “We have got a good set of fans, it is usual that those who are not happy write in to newspapers or phone the phone-ins, but they are not the majority.
“There is always pressure, whether you win, lose or draw. But you have just got to cope with it. Simple as that.”
Houllier believes the 169th Merseyside derby, with Liverpool having won on their last three visits to Everton, could be just the occasion to put things right.
He said: “The players have just got to be themselves. They must play for the fans and for their own pride.
Everton boss David Moyes cannot believe Houllier is under pressure, but is equally determined to make the Frenchman’s life even more difficult. The Scot is just as determined to continue to close a gap he believes his committed players have cut to a size which gives them a great chance of ending Liverpool’s run of three successive derby wins enjoyed on their trips across Stanley Park to Goodison Park.
And Moyes, now being linked with Valencia striker John Carew after missing out on Barry Ferguson, Claudio Reyna and Sean Davis, is aiming to put aside all talk of transfers.
He said: “Everybody is looking for a couple of new signings and we have tried to get players in.
“So far it has not gone our way but hopefully by the deadline there will be some. But there is nothing certain there and there is no point getting everyone’s hopes up.”
Winning a derby is concentrating Moyes’ mind more than anything else at the moment.
And he says: “There is a massive gulf between the positions of the clubs and the spending power over the years, but we have tried to make that gulf as close as we possibly can and at the moment the players we have here are making a really good job of it.”
If Everton do manage to improve a run of only one derby win in their last 10 collisions with Liverpool, it will heap more pressure on Houllier.
But Moyes said: “If Gerard is under pressure, I do not see why. He has done a tremendous job, winning lots of trophies.
“With the way football is going and the way Arsenal and Manchester United have progressed, I think Gerard has done well to compete.
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