• Champions League

Rodgers: We're back where we belong

Brendan Rodgers is relishing the chance to manage in the Champions League © Getty Images

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Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers claims his club will be back where they belong when they return to the Champions League on Tuesday.

Bulgarian champions Lodogorets are the first opponents to play at Anfield in the competition since December 2009 and Rodgers was in bullish mood as he prepared to make his first appearance among Europe's elite as a manager.

"We are not tourists in this competition - we believe it is where we belong and where we should be playing," he said. "For the players and everyone involved it's something that brings the real excitement, but it isn't a 'giddy' excitement.

"We are Liverpool, we are five times winners of the European Cup and we are synonymous with its best traditions. Our players are excited by the challenges ahead, not daunted by them. We have earned the right to be there, that's the important thing."

The Liverpool manager went on to insist the club's Champions League appearance this season cannot be a brief flirtation with the big time, as he is targeting a lengthy stay in the competition.

"It's difficult to get in it and it will be even harder to stay in it," continued Rodgers. "Qualification has brought greater resources and allows us to add depth and strength and build something but it doesn't make it any easier.

"You've got a fight on your hands to be up in it every year. The club went through a great period for many years at that level and then to be out of it. You see the struggles it brings when you're not in it as well.

"We're building here and still a work in progress in many aspects of the football team and the club but it's very important for us to really enjoy it and embrace everything and look to ensure we stay in it.

"It's something we will expect as a group. We aim to be the best. Sustaining the club in this competition is important. It hits home as soon as you actually see ourselves back in the Champions League how much it can actually be missed."

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