O'Neill himself has called reports as "totally and utterly untrue" while Houllier said he and the team had not taken them seriously.

"It made me laugh, it is not a new story," said the Frenchman.

"But it is not unsettling, it just does not affect us. The players just ignore it, but I joke with them about it all. I am quite relaxed and confident, it is nothing new. But it is not about me, it is about the club. The club is more important than me, that is all that matters."

O'Neill himself said: "It's totally and utterly untrue. How many times have I got to say it."

The Reds are bidding not to become the latest high-profile victims of non-league Yeovil in Sunday's FA Cup third round at Huish Park, with striker Michael Owen set to make his return from injury.

VALDERRAMA RETURNING!

Reuters, Bogota

Former Colombia captain Carlos Valderrama, famous for his exquisite ball control and his wild mop of yellow hair, will return to his hometown club Union Magdalena after a brief retirement, officials said on Friday.

"We have spoken with him and he has agreed to sign up with Union Magdalena. I think he can still play soccer and has the capacity to lead the lads," Magdalena couch Eduardo Retat said. The terms of the deal were not immediately known.

Nicknamed "El Pibe" (The Boy), Valderrama, 41, played at the 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cups and was voted South American footballer of the year in 1987 and 1993. He retired in April 2003.

His deft touches, apparently lazy style and eccentric hair-do turned him into a icon in Colombia, where a seven-tonne, six-metre tall statute of him was unveiled in 2002, in front of Magdalena's stadium in the Caribbean port city of Santa Marta.

His career took him to Millonarios, Deportivo Cali, Atletico Junior and Medellin in Colombia, Montpellier in France, Valladolid in Spain and Tampa Bay in the United States.

INSPECTORS COMING TO LIBYA, EGYPT

Reuters, Johannesburg

FIFA's World Cup inspectors will visit Libya and Egypt this month to complete their assessment of the five African candidates seeking to host the 2010 finals, officials said on Saturday.

The five-man FIFA team, headed by Jan Peeters of Belgium, will visit Libya from January 7-14 and Egypt from January 23-30.

The three other candidates -- Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia -- were scrutinised last year.

The inspection team, which also includes representatives from Chile, Finland and France, has to produce a report on each of the countries seeking to host the World Cup in 2010, the first time the tournament will be staged in Africa.

The reports must be finished by March and will be handed to the 24-man executive committee, who decide on the 2010 host in Zurich on May 15.

The inspectors check stadia, training grounds, hospitals, hotels and other essential infra structure as well as meeting with local political and sporting leaders.