Parry - Houllier future not dependent on Champions League
Gerard Houllier’s future as Liverpool manager is not solely dependant on securing a place in the Champions League, according to chief executive Rick Parry.
The Anfield outfit currently lie fourth in the Barclaycard Premiership, the final Champions League spot, but have lost their last two games and are under increasing pressure from several clubs also vying for qualification into Europe’s top club competition.
Asked if the manager’s position rested entirely on Liverpool finishing fourth, Parry replied: “No, of course it doesn’t.
“Statements saying this will happen if we finish fourth and that will happen if we finish fifth is not what this club’s about and it’s not helpful at the present time.”
In an interview with the club’s official website, www.liverpoolfc.co.uk, Parry did admit that competing in the Champions League was crucial.
“Fourth is essential, as we have said all along. For all sorts of reasons we really do need to clinch that,” he said.
“There’s a huge financial gulf between the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. It makes life difficult.
“We want to be challenging for honours clearly and I think we all feel as disappointed and as frustrated as the fans.
“You can never guarantee that you are going to win the league but we should be challenging. We really should be a title contender.
“We all felt confident this year that with last summer’s signings that we’d made improvements and we would be a strong contender.
“Clearly there is a whole series of different factors which I won’t go into as to why that hasn’t happened.
“The league table doesn’t lie at the end of the day and the reality is we will have fallen short.
“There’s no way that fourth should be a long-term acceptable target. That’s partly why we have our financial advisors on board to re-look at our strategy.”
Meanwhile, Parry remains quietly confident that Michael Owen will sign a new deal – and that Djibril Cisse will finally arrive at Anfield.
On Owen, he said: “We have always been hopeful. As ever, we are not going to go into details about the discussions. That’s totally counter productive. Yes, we do remain hopeful.”
On Cisse, he said: “We remain very hopeful that he will be arriving on schedule.”
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