Bates stays cautious on Chelsea's spending

Ken Bates, the Chelsea chairman, has insisted that the club's determination to qualify for the Champions' League is fuelled by their desire to return to the pinnacle of the game rather than by financial need.

Bates admitted that finishing in the top four of the Premiership would not necessarily guarantee Claudio Ranieri further money to spend on summer signings. That is because, with a Champions' League qualifying round before the lucrative group stages start, Chelsea would continue to adopt a cautious attitude towards their finances.

"Our budget planning wouldn't change. We would work on our usual assumption that we wouldn't get into the Champions' League, so it would be a bonus if we did," he said. "But put the money on one side because that's not the most important thing. We want to be in the Champions' League because we want to take on the best and we've got enough players who have played at the highest level.

"Don't forget, the last time that we took part, in 1999-2000, we topped the first group and then qualified again from the next group behind Lazio and were less than 10 minutes away from beating Barcelona in the quarter-finals. That was pretty good. We enjoyed it, our fans enjoyed it and success is like a drug. The more you get, the more you want."

The extra revenue from the Champions' League group stages, worth up to £10m, is still vital to Chelsea, however Bates might like to portray the club's financial position and priorities. Whether they qualify for the Champions' League would also have an impact on the club's attitude towards offering new contracts to Gianfranco Zola and Jody Morris, as well as renegotiating terms with the likes of John Terry and Carlton Cole. Bates is nevertheless upbeat about the future, arguing that Chelsea should do well out of the Premiership's next TV deal, however it is sorted out.

He was among 19 of the 20 chairmen – Manchester United were the odd club out – who voted in favour of the Premiership keeping their collective-bargaining position for overseas rights in the next deal, which starts in the summer of 2004.

However, he warned: "It's working very well for the Premier League at the moment. That's illustrated by what happens to the clubs who are relegated. If necessary, we can always go it alone with our own Premiership channel and control the prices, but we don't want to go down that route, we want to work with the national broadcasters."

The manager of one of Chelsea's main rivals for a Champions' League place, Gérard Houllier, believes his Liverpool players have the strength of character to handle the "three cup finals" that could send them into the tournament. Liverpool must beat relegated West Bromwich Albion on Saturday and also win their two final games against Manchester City and Chelsea to ensure they finish in the top four and qualify.

Houllier said: "We have the mentality to keep going in tough circumstances. We give our all every time and that's why I'm proud of my team because whenever they go on to the pitch they give everything."

He added: "These are the three most important games of the season. They are cup finals. It is a very exciting time for us. I hope Steven Gerrard's late winner against Charlton on Monday turns out to be a good omen for us."

But while Liverpool concentrate their minds on saving their season in the next couple of weeks, their players are already turning their attention to next term and putting right what has gone wrong in this campaign.

Speaking in the club's magazine, LFC, Michael Owen said: "When we started off great this season I think everyone thought this was our year. I think that was the general feeling around the ground, among the supporters and among the players. Then it went downhill and you lose a bit of confidence in yourself, in our team, in everything really. Hence, we had a lot of bad results. If we can restore that confidence, have everyone believe in each other again and get on a good run – and maybe we need one or two more players – I think we can win the league in the next year or the next couple of years."

* Liverpool have invited Barcelona to play a pre-season friendly at Anfield on 8 August.