"He obviously didn't have the best of seasons last season," said Houllier.
"But he was not the only one and it is an ideal opportunity now for him to step out again and show his real worth, which he did in the previous two and a half years with us. He knows that I have always backed him and always given support to him."
"You don't find many strikers of that strength and that speed, that pace and power, who can play up front as he can play. Sometimes he sacrifices himself for the rest of the strikers.
"It was quite a good omen that he scored the first goal of the season, and a good one too."