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Former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier has backed his old side to clinch Premier League glory this season.

The 66-year-old Frenchman managed the Reds between 1998 and 2004 before being replaced by Rafael Benitez, his side finished second in 2002 on 80 points but Arsenal clinched the title.

Now Houllier, who also managed Lyon and Aston Villa, believes Brendan Rodgers’ side have what it takes to finish top in May.

He said: “This year they can do it. If you look at their games they have Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham at home and the way they have been playing they will be confident.

“The games away, apart from Man Utd which is always difficult, are all winnable. I’m not putting pressure on them, anyone from the top four can win it.

“If you look at the progress Liverpool have made over the last couple of years it is impressive. Last season I saw them a lot and you could see what he (Rodgers) was trying to achieve.

“They have momentum, they have got the strikers, they have a good captain in Steven and Brendan has shown he can improve players. Look at Henderson, Sterling, I like Coutinho. They have a good blend in midfield.

“People seem to be talking about the reasons why they cannot win, but there are many, maybe more, as to why they can.”

Liverpool travel to Southampton tomorrow just four points behind leaders Chelsea with 11 matches still to play. They are the leading scorers in the Premier League with 70 goals.

Houllier also heaped praise on Rodgers, and praised him for his bold attacking approach.

He continued: “I met Brendan at a dinner to honour Steven Gerrard last year and I like a lot about him. I like his philosophy, the style he has imposed on the team. He doesn’t bottle it. A lot of teams don’t play with two strikers any more. He knows his strikers are good so he plays them.”

Houllier famously hit the headlines for declaring Liverpool “ten games from greatness” in 2002. A team containing Gerrard, Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher, Dietmar Hamann and Sami Hyypia had positioned themselves for a shot at both the title and the Champions League but fell short in the League and lost out over two legs to eventual finalists Bayer Leverkusen.

The Frenchman believes that Liverpool did have a great chance that year but admits he didn’t expect the great form of eventual champions Arsenal.

“That season I thought we could do it,” he said. “After we played Chelsea at home I said we were ten games from greatness. I believed in the players. We were trying to win the title and the Champions League at the time. We were building on the progress of the previous season.

"We took 27 points from our last ten league games but I never thought Arsenal would do what they did. All credit to them, they were on an incredible run.

“I wish we could have done it for the Liverpool supporters but sometimes you have to accept that the other team is good.

“But I don’t want to turn too much to the past. I have no time for nostalgia, I like the Liverpool team that is playing at the moment.”

The former French national team boss believes that Liverpool’s biggest threat will come from Manchester City, but insisted that the Reds have the firepower to come out on top.

He said: “I would say Manchester City are the biggest threat. They have a game in hand and will be out of the Champions League soon. Arsenal look a bit jaded to me.

“But really any of the top four can win. I have always kept my loyalty to Liverpool and they are scoring so many goals.”

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