Taking inspiration from United?

But we're not ready to sell our soul down the financial river by becoming a PLC , or looking to appoint a peeping-tom to the board (or have one resign as the case may be), but to come though a bad spell in the same manner as those down the East Lancs Road.

Houllier said: "We need to look to the present and the future and respond with character and temperament in the same way Manchester United did after their bad spell. Other teams have done that.

"I believe we have the talent and mental quality to do that. We knew at some stage we would lose games but we a sour taste that our three defeats could have been avoided, but we don't want to dwell on that.

"It is better to have sticky spell now than at the end of the season."