Houllier knew he could die

Houllier gave half-time team talk against Leeds

Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier has revealed that before he underwent emergency heart surgery he was told by a surgeon that he could die.

Houllier was operated on after being taken ill during Liverpool's home league draw with Leeds United on 13 October.

"The specialist, Dr Rod Stables, said to me: `We will have to operate on you'," Houllier told the Liverpool Echo, in his first interview since he underwent surgery.

"I didn't think twice. I said: `Get it done. I've taken risks all my life'."

"But even then, I still somehow couldn't grasp just how serious things were.

"That changed when he said: `Do you want to speak to some people?'

"I realise now what he was inferring.

"My wife Isabelle was with me and the words we exchanged are obviously very personal."

Houllier also revealed he knew he had a health problem weeks before he was hospitalised.

"Physically, I felt something was wrong, but I did not show that to my players," said Houllier

"If you show you are weak, the team will be weak.

"In my mind, I could not allow that to happen,"

"At half-time, I felt something was wrong with my chest," the 54-year-old Frenchman said.

Even so he insisted on speaking to the players.

"I wanted to keep the players self-esteem up.

"I didn't want them to go out in the second half with a lack of confidence or with their minds not on the game."