Rodgers: Go out and represent the fans

The Reds will return to the scene of their emphatic 3-0 victory over United in March when they head down the East Lancs Road eager to banish memories of exiting the Champions League at the hands of FC Basel on Tuesday.

The manager admits it will be a tough task against Louis Van Gaal's charges, in front of a home crowd eager for revenge after Liverpool claimed a pair of victories against the Red Devils last season.

However, Rodgers insists his players are determined to replicate the endeavour shown upon their last visit to Old Trafford in order to claim what would be a crucial result against a resurgent United side.

"It's more than a football game - you're representing a city and a group of supporters where there has been a great rivalry over many years," Rodgers told reporters gathered at Melwood for his pre-United press conference.

"It's a very important game - it always is. It's a massive game in the fixture list in this country and for various reasons. It's a game that we go into and want to do well in. It was an outstanding result and performance last season and if we could replicate that then we'll be very happy."

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When Steven Gerrard stepped up to curl an unstoppable free-kick into the back of the net via the post with nine minutes of normal time remaining in the clash against Basel, Anfield believed the Reds could clinch the victory necessary to seal progression to the knockout stages.

However, such a breakthrough did not materialise, despite intense pressure as the game drew to a close, and players and fans were left emotionally drained as the final whistle confirmed the club would not progress further than the group stage.

The players returned to training at Melwood in the aftermath, where the manager and his staff sought to lift the spirits immediately before what promises to be another huge test of their character at Old Trafford at the weekend.

"You're doing different activities and thinking of different ways to work," Rodgers explained, when asked how he was able to motivate the players. "You know with players or with anyone's social life, you'll perform better in anything you do if you're happy and confident.

"We're obviously not happy to be out and miss out on an objective for this season, but I repeat, you can't dwell on it. We've got another game and a vitally important week coming up for us in our season - and the next game is the most important.

"For us, it was vital we could not dwell on the disappointment for too long. The day after, of course, it's difficult because of not qualifying, but we were back in and working.

"Today on the training field, it's our job as staff to lift that spirit and this is a group that is fully focused on winning and performing well. The game against Manchester United is perfect for us and we hope to take that confidence and spirit into the game.

"You've just got to find the ways to refocus the minds of the players, forget and learn from the experiences, and look at it as an opportunity to go and get onto a winning run, hopefully.

"You have to be [determined] when you're at a club this size. The expectancy is what you want. We're very much focused on improving that performance level. We know that we can do that - we can put a run of results together that can keep us climbing."

Liverpool currently occupy ninth place in the league table, while their opponents at the weekend have climbed steadily to third place in the rankings, seven points clear of the Reds.

Victory for the visitors at Old Trafford would present a much healthier picture points-wise, while a result for Van Gaal's side would see United extend their advantage in the table.

"We're not really thinking about that," insisted Rodgers. "As you can imagine, we were disappointed after the Champions League game. Our objective was to qualify through the group stages and we didn't do that. So we're disappointed.

"One thing that we've always retained here has been the spirit in the camp. No matter what the outside influences, what is spoken and written about, we've always retained that strong mentality and today, the focus was very much back on getting ourselves sorted for the weekend.

"The players are relaxed but focused and we've still got another day's preparation to go and we will be ready for the weekend. But for us it's about really looking to improve our performance level.

"We've got some results of late. But really we want to keep improving on the performance level. As my teams have shown, we'll get better as the season goes on. But we want to start that sooner rather than later."