Houllier already feeling the heat

GERARD HOULLIER felt the lash of phone-in tongues after an opening-day defeat but insisted his Liverpool can live with the best.

The Anfield boss hates the tirades of abuse when fans are given a radio platform, but it rained down again in the wake of Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat by Chelsea.

But Houllier was quick to point out that Liverpool were without the suspended Steven Gerrard, who will be back for Sunday’s trip to Aston Villa.

Houllier said: “We were missing Steven Gerrard and Didi Hamann too, but there’s no point in talking too much about the lads who were not playing. But they were missed.”

Houllier knows Liverpool had enough chances to have ruined Roman Abramovich’s first Premiership game as Chelsea owner and he pointed the finger at those responsible for the misses.

He said: “We were disappointed by the result but not the performance.

We sometimes have games like that and when we have the opportunities we should have taken them.

“But what you need in the Premiership is mental stamina over finishing.

“We had a great Liverpool performance in terms of effort and running and a lot of the ball, but they were very compact at the back and it was always going to be difficult when they scored. John Terry was their best player and that tells you everything.”