Programme notesJürgen Klopp: We must redouble the efforts that have taken us this far

The boss writes: “There is always something extra-special about still being involved in European competition at this time of year with the semi-final and final coming into view and the possibilities of what might lay ahead becoming even more exciting.

“This is not to say we are looking too far ahead – the opposite is true – but knowing that we have reached this stage is undoubtedly a reason for excitement and also a reason to redouble the efforts that have taken us this far. The last eight is definitely a good place to be, it is actually the best place we can be right now, but now we want to go further.

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“The best chance for this to happen is if we play two really good games. This is what I expect our opponent to do, so it makes sense that we should look to do the same. Atalanta are a top side with a super coach in Gian Piero Gasperini and they will bring all of their qualities to Anfield as they have done previously, so we need to be prepared for that.

“In my experience, Atalanta are a very uncomfortable opponent to play against and it is clear that this is the same for other teams too because they would not have reached this stage of the competition otherwise. This is a quarter-final so it is not as if we had an expectation that we could face ‘easy’ opponents and the truth is that we will come up against a team which is definitely the opposite of that.

“This, of course, is what we are in it for. The whole idea is that it should be a test and our own idea is that we should relish these tests. We know that Anfield is made for nights like this, and we will need the stadium to be on its toes in the way it gets behind the team and senses the moments when a little bit extra is needed. I have no doubt that this will be the case tonight.

“As I knew would happen, a lot has been said about our draw away to Manchester United on Sunday. I said at the time that this was a game that we should have won, and nothing has changed my opinion on that. We should have been calmer and clearer in moments that could and should have been decisive for us. This did not happen, so we accepted the result and move on.

“What should not be forgotten, though, is that to have the particular problem we had, a lot of the rest of our game has to have been really good. We cannot lose sight of this. Criticism is a normal part of the business that we are in and it was clear that it would come after this result but it would be really dumb if we did not recognise that there were things that we did really well at the same time as recognising that there were elements that we need to do better.

“The truth is I have been involved in a lot of games in my career and I cannot remember too many that did not finish with something that needed to be improved. This one was no different. But it does not need to be any bigger than this and nor should we allow one game to define who we are or what we want to be.

“We should, of course, use the information and we are definitely doing this and we should push ourselves to be better but not at the expense of recognising that the players we have and the football that we have played this season are the reasons why we are in a good position at this point of the season. I think the English saying talks about not throwing the baby out with the bath water. That makes a lot of sense to me right now.

“Tonight, the opportunity comes in the Europa League and we should look to make the most of it.”

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