BR: Why Bournemouth presents opportunity
Liverpool will use the strong spirit within their dressing room to tackle the obstacle presented by Bournemouth to the team's aims of Capital One Cup glory on Wednesday night, according to manager Brendan Rodgers.
Middlesbrough and Swansea City have been overcome to date in the competition, setting up a tricky journey to the Goldsands Stadium in the quarter-finals, home to the outfit currently leading the way in the Championship table.
With only eight teams remaining in the tournament and a potential trip to Wembley moving into view, the Reds boss spoke today of the mentality within the camp to add to the club's prolific record of hoisting aloft this trophy.
"We wanted to have a right go at all of the cup competitions this year and the game on Wednesday will be an opportunity for us to get into the semi-final," said Rodgers at a pre-match press conference.
"It would obviously give us confidence to get through and then go into a two-legged semi-final. We're in competitions to win trophies, so if we can get the victory against Bournemouth and get through, the aim for us would be to hopefully go on and win the competition. That's why we're in it.
"As a team that traditionally gets stronger as the season goes on, we've got great belief that we can still finish the season very strongly, both in the league and the cups. We just need a little bit of luck and a break, and I think we'll get that. When we do and we get some consistent results, we can push on.
"There's still a long way to go in the league and the points difference can be made up. The results haven't been as we would have wanted. But we have got a long way to go still this season - there is a lot of work to be done and points to play for."
A big week for the Reds began with a weekend trip to face rivals Manchester United, sends Rodgers' charges to Bournemouth tomorrow and concludes with the Barclays Premier League visit of Arsenal this Sunday.
Liverpool suffered a 3-0 reversal at Old Trafford despite creating a wealth of goalscoring opportunities, but the manager believes the competitive professionalism of his players and the togetherness in the group can combine to produce a response.
"Our dressing room is very strong," he continued. "We're very fortunate that we've got a captain who is a strong leader in the dressing room. That spirit is something that has been very important in my time here.
"Of course, we're not happy that we're not winning games; these are competitive players and a lot of them nearly won the league last season. They are competitive and they won't be happy with losing.
"But the actual spirit in the group is very strong and that's one of the reasons why I believe that once we get the confidence back - through winning games and performing well, equally - then we'll go into the second half of the season and be much better."
Bournemouth, meanwhile, have not lost a match since September and notched five goals in defeating Cardiff City on Saturday to assume leadership of the Championship standings.
Rodgers watched that fixture as part of his preparations for tomorrow's meeting and acknowledged at length that Eddie Howe's side - and the crowd behind them - will make life tough for the visitors.
The Northern Irishman added: "They are at the top of the Championship, which is a very tough league, and they are very much a team. You can see the team ethos. They started the season with one or two results that they wouldn't have been happy with.
"But as the season has gone on, they have become stronger and stronger. I watched their game against Cardiff at the weekend and even though they conceded some goals, you can see the mentality in the team to press and the intensity is there.
"They have very much got good quality in the side. It's going to be a really tough game for us and our players know, having experienced it last season in the cup, that it will be a difficult game.
"But it's a challenge that we're really up for - we're in the quarter-finals so we want to win the competition. In order to do that, we have to get through difficult games. I saw enough at the weekend to show that the intent is coming back into our game.
"We'll go there knowing it is difficult. The crowd will be up for it at a smaller stadium; it doesn't matter where you go with Liverpool, the stadium will always be packed out."