Liverpool negotiate new Owen contract

Liverpool are eager to secure the services of Michael Owen on a new long-term deal. The 21-year-old striker, who played such a pivotal role in the 5-1 victory over Germany on Saturday, still has two years left on his current contract, but his manager, Gérard Houllier, wants to keep him for longer.

"We are very confident Michael will sign a new deal soon," Liverpool's chief executive, Rick Parry, said. "A number of amicable meetings have been held with Michael already. We are optimistic an agreement will be reached."

There was no such vote of confidence for Sven Goran Eriksson from the League Managers' Association. Their chief executive, John Barnwell, criticised the appointment of the Swede, and yesterday he was sticking to his guns.

"We at the League Managers' Association were not in favour of a foreign coach and that position still holds firm," Barnwell said. "It means the FA were saying, very clearly and publicly, that they thought there was nobody capable and we felt that was an insult and we still do."

Despite Saturday's defeat, the German FA have said that they will not cancel scheduled friendlies – against South Korea on 11 November and Thailand two days later – on the dates of the World Cup play-offs.

Eriksson's Scotland counterpart, Craig Brown, still believes winning a place in Japan and Korea is possible, despite his side's goalless draw against Croatia on Saturday. "The mood in the camp is very good," he said as his players prepared for tomorrow's game in Belgium. "Our World Cup prospects are very much alive and, hand on heart, I think the least we can hope to get is a draw and we could conceivably win the match.

"The fans are coming in great numbers and the last thing they want is an anti-climax – and it's the last thing we want as well." More than 10,000 Scottish supporters will travel to Belgium after buying all of the available tickets for the away end of the King Baudouin Stadium.