Houllier looks to the future

Gérard Houllier refused to bask in the glory after watching Liverpool FC demolish FC Spartak Moskva 5-0 in Group B tonight and immediately looked to the future, claiming his team have a "point to prove" in their forthcoming matches with FC Basel and Valencia CF.

Liverpool hungry
Houllier's team, however, finally set their European campaign on the way with an emphatic display at Anfield, beginning the game with a hunger for the three points that paid off handsomely in the first half-hour, when goals from Emile Heskey (7), Bruno Cheyrou (15) and Sami Hyypiä (27) finished the match as a contest. Despite the goal deluge, with Diao and Heskey again adding to the tally late on, Houllier was convinced Liverpool should have won by a wider margin. "The scoreline should have been better," he declared. "Nevertheless, it was a good performance and we made them appear ordinary."

'Point to prove'
The Frenchman, though, admitted he was still reeling after Liverpool disappointed in their 1-1 draw against Basel last week. "I still haven't taken in last week’s result against Basel. I think we played better in that game than we did tonight." He is desperate for his side to show that they are as good as the Swiss and Spanish sides. "For various reasons we have a point to prove against Basel and when Valencia come to Anfield," adding philosophically: "If you want to make a dream happen, it happens."

Sorry Spartak
Spartak, meanwhile, are in a sorry state. The Russian team, who are already out of the championship race in domestic competition for the first time since 1995, are yet to score in their three Champions League encounters this term and have now gone 14 games without a victory in the competition, failing to take a point or score a goal in their opening three fixtures.

'Period of stagnation'
The fate of Spartak coach Oleg Romantsev hangs in the balance and Grigory Yartsev, who took the club to a domestic title in 1996, is reportedly set to take over. Romantsev preferred to blame his side's performance on a general malaise in Russian football rather than any deficiencies of his own. "The standard of the Russian game is not very high at the moment," he said. "We are in a period of stagnation but with the youth players coming through it will hopefully be back at the level it once was."

Praise for Liverpool
He also had words of praise for his opponents. "Liverpool played brilliantly and deserved to win," he added. "I believe that alongside Valencia they are the other top team in the group." It was not ever thus for Spartak, who registered four straight wins against English opposition before suffering a 1-0 defeat at Elland Road against Leeds United AFC in the 1999/00 UEFA Cup.