The Frenchman had taken sole charge of the Reds in November 1998 and steadily set about moulding a squad that combined local talent and passion with European pedigree.
“He always said he wanted a Liverpool heart at the core of Liverpool Football Club,” explained Houllier’s assistant manager, Phil Thompson.
“That’s what he’d known of before. That’s what he envisaged his team to go ahead. He wanted a younger team; he wanted to change it and have a young, vibrant team who could compete and sort of take on the bigger boys.”
Though transfer funds were limited at the time, Houllier, Thompson and the club’s chief executive, Peter Robinson, carefully pieced together the boss’ ambition of ‘two top players for each position’.