Gerard Houllier has tipped Djibril Cisse to be a Premiership
sensation at Anfield - but he has warned the French ace he must
adapt to the demands of English football.
Cisse is still set to sign for the Reds on July 1 despite
Houllier's exit from Anfield, and the Frenchman says the Auxerre
man has all the qualities to take the game in this country by
storm.
"I reassured him. He has all the qualities to really become a
star," said Houllier.
"He must be ready for a physical fight, to work hard, and don't
complain about refereeing."
Three days on from his departure from Anfield and Houllier is still
insisting he bears no grudges towards the Reds.
Speaking to the French press, Houllier says he is proud to have
built 'a team for tomorrow' at Anfield, though he does concede the
failure of El Hadji Diouf to shine under his regime cost him
dearly.
"I believe I have prepared the team for tomorrow with (Milan)
Baros, (Djibril) Cisse, (John Arne) Riise, (Anthony) Le Tallec and
(Florent) Sinama-Pongolle. But you know there are never perfect
reinforcements," he said.
"The disappointment is El Hadji Diouf, because he has a big
potential, but he was never steady.
"Sometimes he didn't give a good image of the club and it probably
harmed me."
Houllier added: "My departure went off smoothly. I have no
bitterness. Everything happened with respect and dignity.
"I leave Liverpool one year earlier than I first expected. I feel a
big sadness, but I leave with a good relationship.
"We part on a common agreement, because by going on, there would be
excessive pressure on the board, the players and me, and that would
have damaged the results.
"I just missed a league title. Without all the injured players we
could have fought for the second place, but not for the first
place. Arsenal had an exceptional run.
"Since the first match of the season I understood it would be
difficult to keep my job.
"You have to know there are 28 old Liverpool players or coaches in
the media.
"During our match against Newcastle, Bobby Robson told me: 'You
have over you people I don't have to undergo'. It is a heavy
parameter to consider."When it works fine, they don't say anything.
When it works not so fine, they don't talk about injured players or
things like that. Actually, the more success you have the sooner
you will be sacked!
"Because you create a huge expectation. That is what happened after
our five titles in 2001."