Downing: I can do it again
Stewart Downing enjoyed his first full outing in the left-back position at Anfield on Thursday night and claimed he would relish playing there again.
Downing was Liverpoolfc.com journalists' man of the match as the Reds left it late to secure qualification for the Europa League group stages against Hearts.
And the 28-year-old posed a constant threat for the home side, exploiting acres of space down the left channel after manager Brendan Rodgers shifted him from the wing into a deeper position.
"I enjoyed the game," Downing told Liverpoolfc.com. "It was a good match. I saw lots of the ball and got forward quite a lot, so it was a good match to play in. I was running onto the ball from deep and there was plenty of space down that side. I enjoyed it, it was a great test for us.
"I think you'll have to ask the manager whether I will play (in that position) again. Hopefully I'm in contention to play the coming games and if I start out wide or as a full-back, then so be it. I just want to play and do well and help the team."
A late goal from Luis Suarez sent Anfield rocking and ensured the Reds qualified after David Templeton's 84th minute strike threatened to take the tie to extra-time.
And Downing insists the fact that Rodgers opted for a strong line-up in the play-off, demonstrate's the manager's commitment to challenging in the competition.
"We're in it to win it," he said. "As the manager says, this is a competition we want to win and I think you could see that by looking at the team selection tonight.
"A lot of people didn't think they would see the so-called big players but the fact that they did shows exactly what the manager thinks about this tournament.
"We made hard work of it but credit to Hearts, they came and had a go. We were a bit wasteful but thankfully, Luis grabbed the goal at a good time.
"It's good that we're in the groups but we'll carry on focusing on our league form for Sunday."