Houllier looks to Cup route for signs of ultimate goal

Eleven weeks ago - when Liverpool were seven points clear at the top of the Premiership and the prospect of them embarking on their worst run for half a century seemed as likely as Michael Owen's perfectly groomed image taking a severe knock – Gérard Houllier would have graded this week's two fixtures in a very different way.

Back then, Wednesday's visit of Arsenal was viewed as a potential title decider, while today's probable fourth-round FA Cup tie was earmarked as a pleasant distraction from the weekly grind of the League. Not any more. Liverpool's priorities have changed dramatically in the last 78 days. With the championship gone and the possibility of a Champions' League place fast disappearing, the Reds have had to go back to what they do best: the cups. "I think that whatever happens on Wednesday, we have no chance of winning the championship," Houllier admits. "For us it's over. It will be either Arsenal or Manchester United. Either way, our priorities are very different now."

With the Premiership dream in tatters for yet another year, the cups have now taken on far more significance. Houllier played his best XI to dispose of Sheffield United in the semi-final of the Worthington Cup, and the policy will continue for this afternoon's trip to Crystal Palace and next month's Uefa Cup tie with Auxerre. "Why not?" Houllier asks. "Do not dismiss the cups. The first cup win [in the 2001 Worthington] was vital to the self-belief of this team because it took a lot of pressure off the players.

"They suddenly thought to themselves, 'We can do it, so let's do it again, and again, and again'. What we need now to go from being a cup team to a title team is consistency and a bit of bottle, but that will come with age and experience."

Success may breed success, but it also raises expectations to unhealthy levels. "At the beginning of the season, we wanted to win the League," he concedes, before revealing the scaled-down ambitions. "Now, we want to try to get in the Champions' League and do well in the cups."

No shame in those targets, but having established themselves as a winning cup side during the first three years of Houllier's reign, Liverpool were expected to move into the next phase of the Frenchman's original five-year plan. Instead they find themselves back in the second division of competitions and, more pertinently, still, back where they were two years ago.

"It's true that this situation reminds me a bit of 2001," Houllier says, "because we were in a similar League position and still involved in three cups. But that does not mean that we haven't progressed. I mean, in 2001, we had nothing. We had won absolutely nothing for nine years. In the meantime, we've won five trophies, finished third and second in the Premiership, and played Champions' League football twice. Does this not look like progress?"

In many ways, Liverpool have been victims of their own recent success. Houllier is the first to second this theory, although he is also honest enough to admit that he, too, must shoulder some of the blame. "I'm not necessarily talking in terms of team selection," he says, "but there are a couple of things that I would have approached differently. Sometimes you don't quite realise how much something is going to affect your players." Houllier is anxious not to dwell on individuals, but he clearly wishes he had rested his goalkeeper, Jerzy Dudek, at the beginning of the season. "Jerzy did not have a very happy World Cup last summer," he says, "so perhaps I should have dealt with him more carefully."

Houllier may have certain regrets, but he would handle the recent frenzy surrounding Owen's gambling in the same way every time. "You know," Houllier says, "I was surprised by the level of criticism because Michael has not exactly done much wrong. I know people who have invested and lost a lot more money than Michael on the Stock Exchange over the last couple of years. But it's white- collar gambling, so people think it's OK. In France, this would never happen. You would never see someone like Thierry Henry be treated like this by our press. I mean, come on, Michael is one of your [England's] best players and yet, just because he is a star, everybody tries to investigate him and put him back down in the cellar."

Was the manager ever tempted to rest his striker? "Ah no," Houllier insists. "In fact, even if he had asked me, I think I would have said no. It's in these difficult periods that a player needs his manager and I was determined to do what was right for him.

"It was an upsetting time for Michael, especially because his family were involved. He has a good family, that have always done the right thing for him during his development, so it really affected all of them. But I believe in him, and I've said to him, 'Don't let them ruin your reputation'."

The same motto could be applied to Houllier, who believes he has suffered a certain amount of "character assassination" in recent weeks. Accusations have mainly centred on the Frenchman's buys as well as his tactical decisions, two charges he strongly refutes.

"People say I have spent lots of money," Houllier says, "but do they tell you that I have sold players for a lot, too? No. And do they tell you that the value of the team has increased since I've been in charge? No. I bought the two centre-backs for a combined total of £6m. Well, how much do you think I would get if I sold them tomorrow? As for our system of play, has anyone said that we've had more shots on goal that any other team? No, of course not."

Houllier's message is clear: No matter what the results, the ultimate goals remain the same. "You can't get to the top in one go," he explains. "I always expected that we would go through a difficult phase, when we would plateau off, because success has to happen in stages. That's why I will not buy anyone during the transfer window. Forget what is written, I'm sticking with my players.

"I believe this crisis has given us an opportunity to improve. In our case, it's been a blessing in disguise because I've been able to see who can't handle the pressure throughout the club. I spoke to important people and they all told me, 'Gérard, whether we go 12 games unbeaten or 11 games without a win, we know that there is good talent here'. That's why I am asking people to let me work. I know what I'm doing."