'We have a very firm foundation of local talent, which I set great store by, and any club wanting to buy any of them can forget it. I said when I took over that I wanted homegrown players to be the heartbeat of the team and I have been as good as my word.
'These young players are even more committed to their club and their shirt than you might imagine. They are the sort who can form the future of this club and I would place Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Danny Murphy in that category.
'I love the fact that we have so many local players and I would have even more if I could. It is not always easy buying British when you look at prices in this country but I do like to have as many as possible.'
The most searching test of Houllier's reign coincides with his most difficult decision as he considers the claims of Fowler and Heskey for the right to partner Owen.
Fowler, who looks favourite after being withdrawn early against United, said: 'I've never played here before but any player worth his salt would want to be involved against the likes of Rivaldo and Josep Guardiola.'
Houllier wants Owen to take the fight to Barcelona and repeat his heroics of the fourth round, when he scored both goals in the 2-0 win at Roma.
' There are no better attacking formations in Europe than Barcelona's quartet of Rivaldo, Over-mars, Luis Enrique and Kluivert, ' said Houllier. 'Rivaldo, in particular, has the individual brilliance to change the face of a game.'
'But Michael is capable of doing similar things for us. He's shown he can influence games at the highest level.' In order to try and put the block on Rivaldo, Houllier has given Switzerland defender Stephane Henchoz the onerous task of man- marking the great Brazilian.
Houllier added: 'Rivaldo is a great player because he can not only produce moments of individual brilliance that can alter the course of a game, he can repeat it on a regular basis.
'That is the class of the man and we will have to watch him very carefully.
'I have seen matches where he has conjured something out of nothing, something different that has put a new complexion on the game.
'It is a talent he shares with Zinedine Zidane and it makes him very special.'
