But nevertheless Houllier was still sad to see one of the clubs most loyal servants leave the club.
He said: "The fans will greet Jamie because he played over 300 games for Liverpool. No player was more frustrated at being injured than him and he worked so hard to get back.
"I was sad when he left and he was offered a new contract but sometimes you have to move to get a new challenge. And he knew the team was growing and that he had more chance of playing regularly at Tottenham than with us. That is not an insult to him, we just had other players coming in.
"If he's injury free for three or four months he will reach a high level again. He hasn't played much for the last few years so he is not a worn out player and I am genuinely really pleased to see him doing well."