[lfc-news] Cisse: Owen situation will not affect targets - Post

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Liverpool Daily Post, 12 Aug 2004
Owen situation will not affect targets
By Andy Hunter, Daily Post

WHERE Steven Gerrard leads, others follow. And after being hauled in the
direction of the Champions League by his captivating captain in Austria
Djibril Cisse admits Liverpool cannot be derailed by the Michael Owen affair.

Two of the attractions that lured the £14million striker to Liverpool
turned into passing ships this week, European's elite competition homing
into view as the man with whom he'd hoped to form the most prolific
partnership in the Premiership looked set to disappear to Real Madrid.

Such is the extent of Owen's star quality that his non-appearance in the
third round qualifying victory over Grazer AK completely overshadowed
Rafael Benitez's first competitive game in charge, one worth £17m to
Liverpool and that could shape the course of their immediate future.

That result lifted Liverpool's spirits at a crucial stage of the summer,
although Cisse admits the squad are all still in the dark over the outcome
of Madrid's pursuit of Owen and the reasons why he was left seated at the
Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium on Tuesday.

"You can't be shocked by anything in football and I don't think I was,"
said Cisse. "I don't really know about other people's problems at the club.
All I can do is try and do my best when I'm given the chance.

"It's difficult for me to comment really - I've only just arrived at this
club, I'm still finding my feet and trying to make an impression, to make
my own place in the team, so I'm not really aware of the politics involved.

"I don't know why Michael didn't play, but I think Milan and I worked well
together.

"It's just a matter of us trying to do our best for the team whatever
happens but, as a partner-ship, we played well against Grazer so that is
encouraging.

"We gave our maximum, as I would whoever I played alongside.

"People may have thought when I signed that it was certain that the
front-line would be me and Michael but when you sign for a club,
particularly one like Liverpool, you cannot be sure of anything."

New on Merseyside and free of political intrigue Cisse may well be, but he
knows Owen will leave a huge void should he depart for Spain and that his
importance to the club cannot be underestimated. Afterall, it was one of
the reasons why he chose Liverpool himself.

Cisse added: "Of course Michael is a huge figure at this club. He is
synonymous with Liverpool and, of course, when I signed I knew he was here
and I was looking forward to playing with him.

"I haven't spoken to him about what's happening. We've heard the rumours
about his future but we don't know anything for certain. All we can do is
concentrate on doing our best for the team and for the club.

"We want to do as well as we can in the Premiership and to get as far as
possible in the Champions League. Who knows what we might achieve?"

Thanks to Gerrard's double in Austria Liverpool can at least begin dreaming
of Champions League adventures once again.

And aside from the obvious distractions surrounding his own competitive
debut for the club Cisse believes it was a faultless start.

"As my first match I thought it went well," he said.. "That was a big game
for us, a match we could not afford to lose, so to come home with a 2-0
away win under our belts is a great achievement. It's a good start.

"I suppose it couldn't have gone much better. Reaching the group stage is
so important for us and, though the job's not totally done, the win in
Austria could prove quite decisive. Now, if we get a good result at
Anfield, we will be there."

Like Benitez being left to handle all the questions over Owen's future,
Cisse finds himself in the awkward position of launching his Liverpool
career at the same time as a manager who didn't sanction his
record-breaking transfer.

But he admits: "The manager is quite a serious man, someone who knows what
he wants and how he wants it done. He has his ideas and he works tirelessly
to get us to put them into practice.

"He is a coach you have to respect. I've only really been used to Guy Roux
before so this is very different for me. But each coach has his own methods
and his own opinions. It is different, but it is good as well."


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