Houllier rejects Monaco rumours as 'distraction'

Far from seeking tax exile in Monte Carlo, Gérard Houllier has committed his long-term future to Liverpool. The Frenchman yesterday rejected claims he could be tempted to leave Liverpool, saying: "It's true Prince Albert of Monaco attended our game against Arsenal, but this was purely in a social capacity as he is a long-standing friend of both myself and Arsène Wenger.

"Let's put the record straight – I am not in discussion with and will not be entering into talks with Monaco about any role at the club. Believe me, I'm here for the long haul."

Liverpool face a struggle to secure Champions' League football next season after their defeat at Birmingham on Sunday. But they are favourites to reach the Uefa Cup final after their game against Auxerre on Thursday, and face Manchester United in the Worthington Cup final in Cardiff on Sunday.

"I will not be distracted by speculation about myself," said Houllier. "It is not true and I want to put that straight. I was a bit concerned, because it came four or five days before we have a big game against Auxerre then a cup final against Manchester United. I don't want anything to happen that might destabilise my players, but they know the truth. They agree with me that we celebrate together and we suffer together. I expected us to have a period like this and I'm confident we will come through it.

"I have spoken to our chief executive, Rick Parry, about the stories about Monaco, and we have a vision of winning the title here and that is our aim," added Houllier. "We will not be distracted. I hope this will be my last job in club management here at Liverpool. I have no intention of going anywhere and want to take Liverpool to new heights.

"I knew we would have a difficult period. Our improving league positions over the last three seasons show we have matured, grown and won trophies. We reached a good level in Europe in winning the Uefa Cup, qualifying for the Champions' League and reaching the quarter-final last season, when we were knocked out by the eventual finalists, Bayer Leverkusen.

"In your professional and personal life you can't always have happy moments. This is a test of character, mental strength and the personnel I have here, and my players' records show me why I have faith in them."

Houllier argued that the 2001 treble of the FA Cup, Uefa Cup and Worthington Cup had unnaturally raised expectation levels.

He said: "Maybe we are victims of our own success in that respect. It increased the great expectations of our fans, but I know the true fans understand what we are trying to do."

At Birmingham, Kenny Cunningham sees his Republic of Ireland colleague, Clinton Morrison, as the key to the club's bid for Barclaycard Premiership survival this season.

Club record signing Morrison has taken time to adjust to the top flight after his £4m-plus summer move from Crystal Palace. But he took confidence from scoring for Ireland in their recent win over Scotland, netted the decisive second goal for Birmingham in their 2-1 home success over Liverpool at the weekend to add to his double strike at Anfield earlier in the season.

Cunningham, the Republic captain, hopes that Morrison can continue in that vein for next Monday's derby at Aston Villa and the remainder of the campaign, from which City probably need only two or three more wins for safety.

Cunningham said: "Clinton, like most of the forwards, is a confidence player. When he is scoring goals he is a different player. He is the kind of player who can have a streak of goals, and I hope this can be the start of such a run for him.

"He could still prove to be the key player for us between now and the end of the season, because he is a goalscorer. He has proved that throughout his career. He's had his ups and downs this season, as we all have in adjusting to the Premiership, but he's very young, still learning his trade and he's going to get better," predicted Cunningham.

"He has the ability, the all-round game, to do that. He's very good with his back to goal, as good as I have seen, and he has that knack of arriving in the penalty box."

But Cunningham added that it was vital that Morrison got the necessary support from his team-mates, saying: "Clinton has not had as many chances this season as he would have liked, and we have to take our fair share of responsibility for that.

"We have to provide him with those opportunities. The one he had in the second half against Liverpool he put away, and that's the mark of a top striker."