Ferguson tells ’Pool give Houllier a job for life

UNDER-FIRE Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier should be given a job for life at Anfield, according to Manchester United’s Alex Ferguson.

The Old Trafford manager has sprung to the defence of his opposite number ahead of Sunday's League Cup final against bitter rivals Liverpool in Cardiff.

"I can't understand where the criticism of Gerard has come in over the past few weeks, particularly in light of the job he has done there," he said last night. "If you win five trophies at any club, you should be a fixture for life."

"He has changed the whole culture and ambition of the club in a short spell and I know he will just be as desperate as I am to win on Sunday."

Houllier is under mounting pressure after a disappointing season in charge of the Merseyside club, despite bringing five trophies to Anfield in 2001.

Liverpool, who are seventh in the English premier league, have been eliminated from the FA Cup and Champions League and are struggling to qualify for the flagship European competition next season through their league position.

Ferguson, the premier league's longest serving manager, recalled that his first job when taking charge of United in 1986 was to smash Liverpool's dominance of English football. After 16 seasons in charge, he feels he has at last broken the Anfield monopoly that so infuriated the United fans.

"When I first joined Aberdeen it was quite obvious that to be successful we had to beat the Old Firm," said Ferguson. "When I came down to Manchester, Liverpool were then the obvious target because they were the team that dominated English football.

"Breaking that stranglehold is something that hasn't just been Manchester United's problem down the years, but the progress we made in the 1990s was terrific and, in that spell, we have picked up vital experience."

"On Sunday we will need all that experience because a game against Liverpool at any time is always a tense, emotional occasion.

"United-Liverpool games are the biggest games for both clubs, both historically and for the fans there's no doubt about that.

"Liverpool is a wholly football-orientated city. Maybe the Beatles interrupted that for a while, but just like Manchester, their main enthusiasm and reason for being is football."