Houllier praises team effort

Last updated : 10 May 2004 By Chris Maxwell
The 23-year-old was at his breathtaking yet again at St Andrews with an all-action display that included an assist for Emile Heskey's second-half strike, a lung-bursting run that resulted in the dismissal of Birmingham defender Kenny Cunningham and a fine curling strike to give the visitors a resounding 3-0 victory.

While the England star rightly won the plaudits of fans and media alike following his Man of the Match display, his manager was delighted to see that Gerrard's team-mates finally showed they can match the standards of their skipper.

Houllier said: "Steven was tremendous and deserved his goal at Birmingham, but I don't want to highlight just one player because it was a very good team performance.

"Steven is doing a good job for us, but we don't want to only rely on him. We have leaders in the team. In the midfield, he can have a bit more freedom because of the way we are organised now. It allows him to play more.

"I want to praise the team and every individual player who was out on the park. This was one of the best performances we've had this season, and the best away performance. It's not an easy ground to come but we showed strength, solidity and creativity.