Hicks said: “You’ve got to have the foundation of your own young players. That’s true with the Texas Rangers, the Dallas stars, the Montreal Canadiens and Liverpool.
“We compete with the top clubs now. We should have beaten Manchester United, we did beat Chelsea.
“Rafa Benitez would explain we have difficulty in being able to compete over the whole Premiership schedule. The Champions League plays better to our advantage.
“But I think that’s the goal. To be able to win both, to contend to win both.”
