FEUDING managers Gerard Houllier and Graeme Souness have been told to bury the hatchet as their simmering row over Lucas Neill threatens to escalate out of control.

Liverpool boss Houllier launched a fresh attack on Souness yesterday in which he slammed the Blackburn manager's attempts to apologise for Neill's X-rated tackle on Jamie Carragher as 'pathetic.'

The fuming Frenchman reacted angrily to previous comments by Souness in which he insinuated that Houllier's lack of top-level playing experience had clouded his judgement of the incident which left Carragher nursing a broken leg.

The spat now appears to have got personal with Houllier calling into question Souness's attitude.

But while the Rovers boss chose to keep a dignified silence yesterday, it was his Liverpool counterpart who refused to let the matter drop, prompting the League Managers Association to step in and urge the two managers to call a truce before the situation gets out of hand.

"I know all about the history and it is difficult for both sides. But they have to deal with the situation like adults," said LMA vice-chairman Frank Clark, who was at Ewood on Saturday in his capacity as an England scout.

"We would hope that things will die down between the parties, I believe it will.

"But if it continues maybe we will have a word with the two sides."

Houllier had sparked the LMA rebuke when he remarked: "The comments about not playing at the top were obviously directed at me.

"Maybe I have not played at the highest level but I have managed at the top longer than Graeme Souness.

"I can tell you it is not often that you go to a game where two players have broken legs in the first 15 minutes."

Houllier's playing career in France was short and spent at a lower division club called Le Touquet before he moved into coaching at a relatively young age.

He coached Lens, Paris Saint Germain and the French national team before eventually joining Liverpool.

He added: "I see Graeme Souness is saying with his hand on his heart there was no intent. Look at the photograph, that was a tackle that was meant.

"If that is what you do when you go for the ball I am surprised. I understand Souness wants to defend his player but I do not understand his attitude.

"Maybe Neill is a good footballer, but he is a bad gentleman. I am not saying he is a coward, but I thought the tackle itself was cowardly.

"Maybe Souness is a good manager but he should put aside his bad feelings for Liverpool."

Neill's tackle was the latest of several incidents which have created bad feeling between the clubs over recent seasons.

Souness, the former Liverpool boss who sacked current Anfield number two Phil Thompson once from a coaching role at the club, has not seen eye to eye with his one-time team-mate who he criticised in his autobiography.

Since then Souness' claims that Liverpool are a "counter-attacking team" have also annoyed Houllier, who recently remarked just because the Scot had expressed that view "does not mean it is true".

He then launched his latest attack after claiming that Souness and Neill were slow to apologise for the tackle which left Carragher facing six months on the sidelines.

"Carragher was injured at 3.10pm on Saturday and the apology came 46 hours later. It was absolutely pathetic," whinged Houllier.

"If anyone thinks I am going to give up on this, they are wrong. Of course I understand these things happen.

"But what is unacceptable is their lack of grace and dignity. I notice that the TV cameras went straight to Blackburn and not here, and yet it is we who have the two players with broken legs.

"It must have just been a coincidence that the cameras were at Blackburn's training ground.

"People have mentioned Steven Gerrard's tackle on Gary Naysmith last season, but you will remember that Stevie apologised immediately before Gary had even got changed after the game.

"To be directing criticism at me and blaming me for the upset is wrong."