Houllier to check Dudek's confidence

Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier revealed he will examine whether Jerzy Dudek’s confidence has been affected by his two recent mishaps before deciding if he should keep faith in his goalkeeper.

Houllier has steadfastly maintained Dudek is his first-choice keeper despite the immense promise of 21-year-old reserve Chris Kirkland.

But although Dudek is seen by many as the leading keeper in the Premiership, Houllier did not give him an unequivocal vote of public support in the wake of his mistake during Liverpool’s 3-2 defeat at Fulham.

“I’ve done that [supported Dudek] in the past. What we need to know now is how his confidence is. We will sort that out,” revealed Houllier.

Asked if Dudek was still his undisputed number one, the Frenchman added: “It’s too early to say as it depends how he feels himself.

“Sometimes when you want to respond to the manager’s trust, it can go against you. So we will see. I’m not able to say yes or no. I will assess the situation in the next few days.”

Dudek, who was partly at fault for Middlesbrough’s recent winner, failed to hold onto Sean Davis’ early long-range effort at Loftus Road, enabling Facundo Sava to put Fulham ahead.

It was a blow from which Liverpool never truly recovered, ensuring they suffered their second defeat in three league games.

The chances are that the experienced figure of Dudek will be in goal for next weekend’s clash against Manchester United, although Houllier must first decide whether to call up Kirkland for Thursday’s UEFA Cup tie against Vitesse Arnhem.

“Chris has improved a lot and he had a great game against Southampton. When he is injury-free, apart from the experience, he’s at a very good level,” added the Liverpool boss.

That Worthington Cup win against Southampton was Kirkland’s only start so far this season and just his fifth since arriving at Anfield at the same time as Dudek last summer.

Since then, Dudek has clocked up more than 50 appearances, keeping a club record 26 clean sheets in that half-century, a statistic pointed out by Houllier in support of his keeper.

“Never mind that he spilled the ball, we should have been the first to it after that. He shares in the defeat just as he shares in a victory. He’s like the rest of us, he’s going through a bad period.

“I’m not particularly unhappy with anyone but I’m disappointed with the result and our defending play, and that’s down to everybody, from Michael Owen to Jerzy Dudek, as we can do better.

“One point out of nine doesn’t look like us but it happens and it’s happened to other teams. When you go through a bad spell like that, you have to keep working and make sure you stick together.”