Brendan: It will be an honour
Brendan Rodgers insists it will be a privilege to walk out at Anfield for the first time as Liverpool manager on Thursday night - and he has his sights set on making the Reds' home a 'cauldron' of a place for opposition players and fans to visit.
His side face FC Gomel in the second leg of their Europa League third-round qualifier in what will be the Reds' first home clash of the 2012-13 campaign and while Rodgers is ready to embrace the moment, his primary aim is to ensure qualification on the night.
"It will be an honour for me to walk out at Anfield tomorrow night for my first game there," said Rodgers. "It is going to be an incredible privilege for me but my focus will be to win the game.
"That will be the most important objective for me on the evening. I'll look to try and make Anfield a real cauldron of a place to come and play.
"I've been given an incredible welcome here. It's been phenomenal. From the outside looking in it was always that way; the passion from the fans and the city and it was a real iconic club. But once you're inside, it's even better than that.
"But while sentiment is important, it doesn't wash with me so much - I need to win games. This is a club that really has a destination; this is a club that you want to be at. We'll improve and get better as we go along."
The Reds take a 1-0 advantage into the second leg of the tie courtesy of Stewart Downing, who cut inside and rifled home the winner in Belarus a week ago.
And while Rodgers expects his side to be sharper than they were in the opener, he knows it will take more time and work before they will be able to showcase the expansive style of football he is seeking to implement.
"Last week we were literally only four weeks into our pre-season before we had our first competitive game," he said. "And we've still got a lot of improvement to make. There's no question about that.
"If people are expecting us to be coming in after four weeks and to be playing fast, flowing, fluent, dynamic football then that won't be the case.
"It takes time. There's a lot of work that goes in to making a team play that way and so it's going to take longer than four weeks.
"What has been important for me is the perseverance of the team. I'm really pleased with the openness and the honesty of the group. Every single day since I've been here they've given me their life.
"There's never been a player who has not given everything in training and that is a great platform to have. If you've got players with heart and character and talent - because at this level to be successful you've got to have talent - then that's great.
"And the hard work is an obligation for me - it's not a choice - it's a part of what you have to have to be good at anything, in particular at one of the biggest clubs in the world."