Everton manager David Moyes cannot believe Gerard Houllier is under pressure, but is equally determined to make the Frenchman's life even more difficult.
Moyes leads Everton into the 169th Merseyside derby above Liverpool in the Premiership and claiming the vast gulf between the two clubs is being closed slowly but surely.
But the Scot is equally determined to continue to close a gap he believes his committed players have cut to a size which gives them a chance of ending Liverpool's run of three successive derby wins at Goodison Park.
And Moyes, now being linked with Valencia striker John Carew after missing out on Barry Ferguson, Claudio Reyna and Sean Davis, is aiming to put aside all talk of transfers.
Winning a derby is concentrating Moyes's mind more than anything else at the moment. And he says: "There is a massive gulf between the positions of the clubs and the spending power over the years, but we have tried to make that gulf as close as we possibly can and at the moment the players we have here are making a really good job of it."
If Everton do manage to improve a run of only one derby win in their last 10 collisions with Liverpool, it will heap more pressure on Houllier.
"We are in good form, and the players have a confidence and they are starting to get a belief. The two lads up front Wayne (Rooney) and Tomasz (Radzinski) are a fantastic threat to any opposition and I am sure Liverpool will know that." Everton have allowed goalkeeper Paul Gerrard to join Sheffield United on a three-month loan, which means Steve Simonsen is on stand-by if Richard Wright's knee injury prevents him playing.
Wright picked up the injury in the midweek draw at Charlton, and Moyes will make a late decision, with Simonsen the only alternative, because he has not yet decided whether to sign Sporting Lisbon's goalkeeper Nelson.
Danish midfielder Thomas Gravesen will also return to the squad following a knee injury that sidelined him for the past two games. Everton's other injured players - Lee Carsley (knee), Scot Gemmill (thigh) and Kevin Campbell (hamstring) - are all still injured but Duncan Ferguson is available after a three-match suspension.
Houllier was defiant and dismissive as he braced himself for the Everton clash. If Liverpool fail to win at Goodison Park, it will be the first time in over 90 years that the club has failed to win any of their first four league games - back to the 1911-12 campaign.
But Houllier, who could have Stephane Henchoz and Emile Heskey back from injury, said: "Scoring, for the moment, is a problem. But it is not something that is going to last.
"We will keep faith in what we are doing, and despite the criticism the players know we have improved our game, improved our defensive play and they know we can score goals.
"I would be more worried if we were not creating any chances. Now that would not be normal. We have created chances in each of our three games. The worry is that we just are not as clinical as we should be". He added: "When you are playing at the highest level, there are times when things get hard. It is not always a bed of roses. But the morale of the squad remains intact." Houllier believes the Merseyside derby could be just the occasion to put things right.