Sami couldn't be Hyypia

Last updated : 21 July 2003 By Chris Maxwell
The 29-year-old Finnish international was disappointed with his side's showing last season - the Reds finished a dismal fifth in the Premiership - but he believes that Gerard Houllier's summer dealings will lead to a much improved title challenge in the forthcoming campaign.

Hyypia said: "All those teams were in front of us last season and they’ve all got a chance to win the Premiership. I’m pretty confident we will do well, but then I was confident before last season. Although we started well, something went wrong.

“Hopefully our plans will work out a lot better this season. We have two new faces and they fit into the team very well. I think both they, and the team, will do well this season. But it’s going to be a lot tighter this season than it was last season, with Chelsea one of our main rivals.

“Hopefully we can make a good start against them by getting the three points and go from there.”