The Reds boss feels that few sides would cope with the big-name injuries his side have been forced to contend with in recent weeks, but he admits that his squad players have failed to take the chance to shine in the absence of the likes of Owen and Kewell.
Houllier said: "When you are a manager of a big club, you always have pressures, particularly on the back of a defeat like the one we had against Southampton.
"But the people at the club know that there are players missing at the moment, for injury reasons. Once we get our players back we will be all right. I don't think many teams would have been able to cope with half of the team out. Despite the fact we have a good squad we miss the star players.
"I don't know what even Southampton would have done without (James) Beattie and (Brett) Ormerod. This is what we have had to face when we have played a lot of teams. The star player always makes a difference.
"But we still have a squad of quality players and they should stand up and take their chance. We should have been more consistent. But there is a fine line at the moment. Had we won against Southampton we would have been fourth - but we lost and we are in ninth place."
