Extremely Proud – The Verdict

Gerard Houllier has said he is extremely proud of the effort of the lads in today’s game against Utd, but was obviously disappointed we didn’t take all 3 points.

Speaking on the Official Site following our 2-2 draw this afternoon, Gerard said that the late comeback from United left a very sour taste in his mouth, as the performance and effort deserved all 3 points.

On another positive note of many from today, Houllier was delighted in a perverse way with the reaction of the team at fulltime as they thoroughly gutted and it’s exactly the reaction he wants as he bids to create a winning atmosphere within the club.

‘I have mixed feelings, I am very proud of the performance taking into account the amount of casualties we had. In the second half we took the game to them and had enough chances to win.’

Most fans would’ve taken the point ahead of the match, and it sounds like Gerard feels no differently given the injuries we have at the moment.

‘Let’s be honest, if someone had seen our team at the start and said ‘would you take a 2-2?’ we would’ve taken it. It was just the way the game went – that’s why we have the regret. They were disappointed because they felt they had enough chances to win the game, that is good. I would be gutted if they weren’t disappointed. I want winners.’

Sadly the game will go down as another ‘what if’, especially given how well we performed for the most part. With all the changes needed and the youngsters in the squad again it’s good to see we can lift ourselves and really make a go of games still.

If we can start making sure we take the 3 points in games we genuinely believe pre match that we should win and get the habit of nicking points from games when we are clear underdog, then the season could be a lot healthier for us than many thought it would be.

In ‘new’ injury news, Ciaran Clark missed the game owing to a calf injury, and Houllier confirmed that Richard Dunne is struggling again with the knee problem that has ruled him out of previous matches.

Vital Villa on:

Vital Villa on: