BR: Our best football is still to come

The Reds were narrowly eliminated at the semi-final stage of the tournament one week ago, losing 1-0 to Chelsea after extra-time at Stamford Bridge to bow out 2-1 on aggregate.

However, Rodgers feels he has witnessed a positive response from his players to that exit - and as Liverpool prepare to return to FA Cup duty and face Bolton Wanderers this evening, the boss predicts fans are yet to see the best of the team.

He said: "After that game [Chelsea] there was a feeling 'would it disrupt or provoke a negative reaction to our season?'

"If anything it's only promoted the development and momentum that we have.

"Of course we wanted to get to the final but the performance level from the two games and leading into those games has given us great encouragement.

"Our best football is yet to come, we had a real difficult start to the season when other teams had full squads and playing really well.

"For us, we needed to find a way to get back to our identity again and we have got that and our best football is ahead of us. We want to take that into the games and get to cup finals."

Liverpool's trip to the Macron Stadium for the fourth-round replay comes after Bolton held them to a goalless draw in the original meeting at Anfield last month.

The likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have already been eliminated from the FA Cup this term, but Rodgers insists no-one within the Reds camp is looking any further than tonight.

"There are still good teams in it but that only counts if you get through yourself," said the manager.

"For us it is looking at the Bolton game as being a tough game. You get through each game and it optimises your chance of getting to the final.

"I repeat, we are in two cup competitions and we want to go as far as we possibly can in them. That will be reflected in our teams, our drive and our desire to get through in the competition."

Following on from their Cup exertions, Liverpool face testing Barclays Premier League fixtures against Everton and Tottenham.

The Spurs game will be their 42^nd of the season - the total number of matches they contested in 2013-14.

"I think we played 42 games last year and up to now we've played 39," said Rodgers. "The idea was to bring in a squad that could cope with that. Of course there was a lot of development for those players in there.

"They have been brought in because we want to be for a number of years now in competitions until late on and challenging for leagues and for that you need to have a good squad.

"I know the players are excited and looking forward and are enjoying how they are playing and working at the moment, we want to keep that momentum going."