Houllier said: "We have never given up. We have played through much of this season with key players missing, with players injured and with some players not on top form because of the World Cup. We have come through periods of pain and despair this season but we have kept going.
"The players have come through the adversity and are still competing for a place in the Champions League. I firmly believe that what they have gone through this season will help them overcome problems in the future because you don't achieve success without going through a bad spell at some stage.
"We have the players who can solve their own problems and the fact that we are still in there at the end battling for fourth place shows they have desire.
"It is a regret that we have to play our whole season in one game but the players are excited by the challenge and are looking forward to it.
"We have made too many errors in games for my tastes this season, but we have the players who can stand up to the challenge on Sunday and take it on."
