Houllier bullish ahead of Merseyside derby

Gerard Houllier was defiant and dismissive as he braced himself for the Merseyside derby showdown at Everton still without a …

Gerard Houllier was defiant and dismissive as he braced himself for the Merseyside derby showdown at Everton still without a win to Liverpool's name this season.

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 that Everton delight in dishing out to their neighbours.

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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."

Houllier also 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."