GERARD HOULLIER yesterday launched an astonishing broadside on his own players as he warned that any dissent would be dealt with ruthlessly.
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While that means that each week seasoned internationals will not even be granted a place on the bench, Houllier insists that he will viciously stamp down on even a murmur of dissent amongst his players.
The French coach is relentlessly focused on Liverpool's title challenge this season and will allow nothing - certainly not the sensibilities of his squad - to get in the way.
Experienced Finland international and former Champions League winner Jari Litmanen has already complained bitterly that his lack of first-team opportunities makes him miserable.
But his manager's response was ferocious. Houllier confessed to a nasty streak that he will employ without pity in rooting out an attitude that he believes will undermine the team cause.
"If there is a cancer, it has to be eradicated immediately," Houllier said.
"The atmosphere is good here. Provided a player's attitude is right then there is no problem. He will be given a chance.
"But if it's not right, then their performance will mirror their attitude. What I don't tolerate is people sulking and chipping away.
"If that happens I can be extremely ruthless and nasty because I am the protector of the team and of the club."
Litmanen's comments are sure to have angered the Frenchman, but the Finnish international is far from the only player to have felt the manager's wrath since he arrived at Anfield three years ago.
From the start, Houllier has shown exactly who is boss with a series of confrontations in which he was the eventual winner.
Highest profile of all was when he forced club skipper Paul Ince out of the club by refusing to take him on a pre-season club tour, and forcing the England international to train with the kids.
Ince wasn't even given a squad number, with Houllier determined to get rid of him after an incident at Old Trafford when the player limped out of a match against Manchester United.
Robbie Fowler also had several run-ins with the manager over his lack of first-team opportunities, and was eventually sold to Leeds for a cut-price £10million.
Players like Dominic Matteo, David Thompson, Steve Staunton, Jason McAteer, Phil Babb, David James and Brad Friedel were all ushered towards the exit because they didn't fit with Houllier's philosophy.
But it was the treatment of two of the manager's own signings - Sander Westerveld and Titi Camara - that illustrated most tellingly how ruthless Houllier can be.
Camara was a popular figure with the fans but was instantly kicked out of the first-team squad when he complained that he had not been given enough first-team chances.
The manager forced the African to train with the youth team and sold him within a couple of weeks, saying goodbye with some harsh words.
"I want players who want to play for this club, who will die for the shirt, and Titi Camara didn't have the right attitude," Houllier said at the time. "That is why he had to go."
Westerveld was dealt with even more mercilessly. The Dutch goalkeeper had endured a nervous season, even when Liverpool were in the process of winning the cup treble, and the following season, after an error-strewn game against Bolton, Houllier's patience snapped.
Rather than bring in a rival to put pressure on, the manager bought two goalkeepers and condemned Westerveld to a swift departure from Anfield.
Speaking last week, the French coach once again explained that decision, and admitted that it was heartless. "Most of my players for the last four years have been progressing a lot, they have all improved.
"I just needed to look at one or two places to improve us, and that's what happened with Sander," he said.
"That looked harsh from the outside, but you can't be too sentimental in this job. You have to let your head rule your heart sometimes.
"I liked the lad personally. He was a good personality. But I made a decision and I had to go through with it. It may have appeared heartless, but it was done for the good of the club."
Houllier will justify his actions the same way every time because he believes that the club must always come above any player, even one as revered as Fowler.
His ruthless streak was most recently exposed this summer, when he supposedly promised to sign Nicolas Anelka on a permanent transfer but instead bought El Hadji Diouf.
Anelka was furious, saying that his fellow countryman was devious and ruthless, but those words will not hurt Houllier.
He is determined to win the league and is prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve it.
At the weekend, Liverpool's bench looked like an international five-a-side team, with Emile Heskey, Vladimir Smicer, Bruno Cheyrou, Jamie Carragher and Chris Kirkland all sitting there.
But they were the lucky ones. Full internationals Patrik Berger, Milan Baros, Igor Biscan, Bernard Diomede, Salif Diao and Markus Babbel, along with the injured Litmanen, didn't even get changed.
They know now that any complaints will be referred to the door marked 'exit'.
..AND HERE'S ONE HE BOMBED OUT EARLIER
GERARD Houllier's most famous fall-out - starting one of the longest-running feuds in the game - was with David Ginola after France failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup.
Houllier, then manager of Les Bleus, called the winger "a criminal" and "a murderer" after he was intercepted late in the crucial game against Bulgaria, who raced away to score.
It meant elimination for France, one of the lowest points in their history, and Houllier never forgave Ginola.
Ginola's reputation in France never really recovered and he did not play for his country again, which, patriot that he is, grieves him still. "He needed to find someone to blame. That's typical of France, you know. I mean, who invented the guillotine?" said Ginola. "It is something I can never forgive him for, as it was a cruel attempt to wreck my life.
"His vicious verbal assault had my family in tears and nearly killed my grandfather.
"I feel it is something which will haunt me for the rest of my life."