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English roundup Heskey needs to be more selfish; Weah leaves
LONDON (Reuters) -- Liverpool coach Gerard Houllier has told his hat trick striker Emile Heskey to be more selfish and to have more faith in his abilities. Heskey had scored only one goal this season before putting three past Derby County in Sunday's 4-0 premier league victory. Houllier was delighted with Heskey's performance, saying: "The boy has tremendous qualities. He has pace, power and will always trouble opposing defenses." But the Frenchman also took a mild dig at his striker. "Sometimes I wish he had more belief in himself ... at halftime I told him he would score a hat trick and I was delighted to see him go and prove me right. "I want to see him a bit more aggressive and a bit more selfish in his game," Houllier said. "But he likes to set up others and play his part as a team. And that is good also." The powerful center forward had spent more time assisting teammates like fellow England striker Michael Owen than going it solo and he played down Sunday's performance. "I enjoyed my second goal the most out of the three," he said. "I turned and hit it really well -- it could easily have ended up in the crowd but thankfully it hit the back of the net." His lack of goals had begun to raise questions about Liverpool's 11 million pound ($15.87 million) buy from Leicester City. But Heskey said: "I have been playing reasonably well this season but one or two slight niggles have held me back a bit. "I know I will always have critics. But the best way to answer them is to score goals and I was delighted to get three against Derby."
Weah leaves Manchester CityMANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -- Former World Footballer of the Year George Weah quit Manchester City after appearing in just nine games on Monday in what was described as an "amicable" separation. The former AC Milan forward asked to be released from his two-year contract with the premier league club after being named as substitute against Bradford City on Saturday -- the fourth time he has been left out of the line-up this season. He held talks with City manager Joe Royle on Monday where his request to leave Maine Road was accepted by the club and his contract was terminated. Weah said: "It's a situation I thought wouldn't arise. However having spoken to Joe Royle we have amicably agreed it will be best for both parties to terminate my contract. "I will now review my own situation at a later date." Weah, voted World Player of the Year in 1995, started just seven games and made two substitute appearances for City following his free transfer from Milan in the summer. He scored four times -- with three of those goals coming against first division Gillingham in the League cup. Royle said: "It's always regrettable when things don't work out between a club and a player. George is a true professional who has great stature throughout European football. We wish him well." Weah leaves for America in the next 24 hours where he carries out work for the UNICEF charity and FIFA before deciding where to continue his career. He has already received lucrative offers to finish his career in America. The 34-year-old first came to the fore at Monaco under the guidance of manager Arsene Wenger before moving to Paris St Germain and then AC Milan. He spent the final part of last season on loan at Chelsea, where he won an FA Cup winner's medal in May, but his switch to newly promoted Manchester City in the summer came as a surprise. Meanwhile, City has agreed on a three million pound fee with Everton for defender Richard Dunne, who will hold talks with the club on Tuesday.
Huddersfield sacks BruceHUDDERSFIELD, England (Reuters) -- Former Manchester United captain Steve Bruce was sacked as manager of first division Huddersfield Town on Monday following the club's dismal start to the season. Bruce, 39, who had been in charge since June 1999, was fired after talks with owner Barry Rubery following Huddersfield's 1-0 defeat at Grimsby on Saturday. That was its seventh defeat in 11 league matches and left it in 23rd place in the 24-team first division table. Although it narrowly missed out on a place in the playoffs last season, Town has made a poor start to the season, winning only one league game. Bruce had been tipped as a potential candidate to return to Old Trafford as the successor to United manager Alex Ferguson when he retires in two years time, but this development is a major blow to his chances. Bruce has been hampered by a lack of money at Huddersfield and was forced to sell forward Marcus Stewart to Ipswich last season for 2.5 million pounds ($3.61 million) -- a move that began the decline in the team's form. Until Huddersfield announces his successor, coaches John Deehan and Lou Macari have been put in charge of team affairs for the match against Sheffield United on Tuesday.
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