Stephane Henchoz hopes that Owen will stay but understands his situation.

Speaking at a Press conference in Austria he said,

"Michael has only one year left on his contract and under the Bosman ruling it gives the player the option to sign a new contract or go.

"I hope he will stay with Liverpool but it has to be Michael's decision. If Michael is happy with the club and and happy to play for the club then he will sign a new contract but it's up to him."

Stephane then went on to discuss the importance of qualification to Liverpool.

"This is a very important game for the club, the fans and the players. We want to be playing in the Champions League this season.

"Playing away is not a bad thing for the first game. It's always important to get a good result and we need to perform well. If we do that then I think the result will come for us.

"Grazer AK are the champions and double winners so they must be a very good team. They are a bit unknown to us but we have had them watched and seen videos so we know they are a strong team, especially at home so we know we have to perform.

"They have good strikers. Roland Kollmann was the top scorer and Alen Skoro is a good striker as well so we know we have to defend well.

"An away goal in the first leg of any European game is always very important and we are hoping we can get through this tie and qualify for the Champions League.

"We have to be focussed and be strong defensively. You can't win things without a good defence and when we have the ball we have to get forward as quick as we can and score goals.

"I think the pre-season has gone really well for us and we have played some good football. Since the players from Euro 2004 returned we have only been training for three weeks which isn't very long but we are ready for the start of the season. I think if we can play as well as we did against Roma in the USA then we can do well against Graz and qualify."

Henchoz also said he is enjoying the licence given to him by manager Rafael Benitez to support the attack from corners and set pieces, something he wasn't allowed to do by the previous manager.

"I have enjoyed being able to come forward for the corners and free-kicks and it's something I haven't done since I've been at Liverpool. I managed to score against Celtic in the USA and hopefully can get another one this season!"

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