Boss: Let's reinstate Anfield confidence
Liverpool will attempt to summon the kind of confident display they so regularly produced on home soil throughout 2013-14 when Stoke City provide the opposition at Anfield on Saturday, according to Brendan Rodgers.
Having ended a losing streak by drawing 2-2 with Ludogorets Razgrad in the Champions League earlier this week, the Reds are determined to rediscover a winning formula and begin to move up the Barclays Premier League table tomorrow.
The manager made three alterations to his line-up for the Group B tie in Bulgaria, bringing back vice-captain Jordan Henderson but also adding the experience of Kolo Toure in defence and midfielder Lucas Leiva to the side.
After that contest, Rodgers spoke of a more cohesive structure to the team and now wants to hone that improvement further to restore the level of confidence that carried Liverpool to a series of unforgettable performances in L4 last season.
"We just want to return to our form," said the Northern Irishman at his pre-match press conference today. "We had an issue in terms of Anfield when I first came in, and we put that to bed for a long time - we need to reinstate that.
"Every game at this level is very difficult. Stoke have had two good results away from home; they won against Manchester City and against Tottenham. They'll be happy enough to come and try to get a result.
"Mark Hughes has done an excellent job since he has gone in there; it wasn't an easy job to go in after Tony Pulis, who did an excellent job for so many years. He has been able to establish his style and his way of working on the team.
"They have shown they can be a tough team to break down and beat. We anticipate a really tough game tomorrow, but we are at home at Anfield and we always expect to do well at home, whoever we play.
"It's a different challenge for us; everything has been hunky dory and on the up for 18 months. But it is a different deck of cards we have this year and a different hand we have been dealt.
"We just need to focus on the now. I said to the players the other night that what has happened before this season has gone. We haven't been on a good run but let that be the making of us.
"In sport, you get the chance to go again. The other night, we were competitive, worked well and the structure of the team was good. Hopefully we can take that into a difficult game against Stoke."
Rodgers added: "You focus on the immediate job and what you can control. For me, it's about working with the players - consolidating and defining and providing even more clarity on their roles and the function of the team.
"We now need qualities that have been in other performances in terms of football, but now it's even more important that the mental characteristics come out in the team.
"I know they have that. I just want them to concentrate on their football, their performance level and focus on performing in order to get the result."