Phil: Old Trafford can be our platform
Philippe Coutinho insists Liverpool won't be dwelling on their Champions League exit when they journey to Old Trafford on Sunday, maintaining victory over Manchester United would be the perfect platform to kick off the festive period.
The Reds' European fate was sealed on Tuesday evening when a 1-1 draw with FC Basel at Anfield confirmed their exit from the tournament at the group stage.
Coutinho acknowledges Liverpool's disappointment at departing the Champions League at the first hurdle, but feels the lessons learnt will ultimately help the players improve for future challenges - starting against their old rivals from Manchester on Sunday.
Chatting to Liverpoolfc.com at Melwood, the Brazilian reflected: "We hope to take this experience onboard and learn from it so we can benefit in other competitions and improve what needs improving.
"We are, of course, disappointed by our Champions League campaign. However, this is in the past and now it's time for us to lift our chins up as we have a massive game ahead of us this weekend. We have to do our best in the Premier League to achieve a good position.
"It's difficult but we must try to put what happened past us now. We have to keep our chins up and look ahead to the games and tournaments we'll be playing next.
"We must take what happened in the Champions League as a lesson learned so we can avoid having the same issues in other competitions."
Liverpool will journey to Old Trafford on Sunday ready to face a team who have revived their own season by winning five games on the bounce.
Nonetheless, it's the sort of occasion Coutinho feels can bring the best out of a squad of Reds players determined to bounce back.
"It's a massive game," he said. "Winning such big matches is always a good platform to improve the team's confidence, especially if we do it through a good performance.
"It's going to be a very important game for us to get past this week's elimination and keep it going in the Premier League.
"This derby is like a big spectacle as Liverpool and Manchester United are two of the world's biggest clubs. It's going to be a tough game as always but I hope we can do well and win it.
"It's a great derby and one in which there is never a favourite to win regardless of the venue.
"We had a good away game against them last season and we'll try to do the same this year. We'll do our best to improve in the competition going forward."
Liverpool are third in the current Barclays Premier League away form table - only Manchester City and Southampton are ahead of them in the standings.
So what reasons does Coutinho believe are behind the Reds appearing to perform better on the road?
"It's hard to say why," considered the No.10. "We haven't been playing at our best and things are just not happening as we would expect.
"Nevertheless, we have to focus on what we need to improve regardless of where we're playing at. We have lots of games to play and we know we must enhance our performance."
Heading into the weekend, Liverpool were just six points off fourth place in the table.
With five Premier League matches to navigate before January 2, Coutinho believes the festive period could prove decisive in determining the Reds' hopes of securing a return to the Champions League.
He said: "We have to get as many points as we can from the next few matches.
"Our objective has always been to be in the top four - it's where a great club with a rich history like Liverpool has to be.
"These end-of-year games will be very important for us to keep this short distance to those positions so we can work to get in there this season."