Parry pleased with CL Draw

By Craig McWalter
March 22 2002

Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry was relieved the Reds avoided Manchester United in the quarter-finals.

The Merseysiders face a tough two-leg tie with the German league leaders, with the first leg at Anfield just after Easter.

"We are quite happy with the draw," Parry admitted.

"We're pleased not to have drawn United from an emotional point of view. We'd prefer to play them at a later stage."

Asked about the possibility of a semi-final meeting with United, Parry said: "I guess it would be nice if we could have been kept apart a stage further (the final) but both of us have to get there first."

Parry also admitted that Gerard Houllier will be very keen to be back at the helm for the quarter-finals.

"I think it would be quite difficult to keep him away. Having said that we're delighted with the job that Phil Thompson has done in getting us this far," he said.

"It was a case of us hanging on and getting through the group phase because we are confident that we can beat anyone over two legs."