Houllier said: "It was a good day at the office for us and it's good to see the Reds are not dead!
"I told the players before the game that this was a chance for them to be special. It was a chance to show the supporters what they could do. It's a special game and they needed to be special today. And they were. From the captain right through the team, they all played their part.
"Against Spurs in midweek we had the performance but not the result. Today we had both and I am very pleased. We had a plan and it worked well. I'm pleased for the fans and for the players because that was our first win. We prepared for the game in difficult psychological circumstances but the lads kept their heads up and we got our reward today."