Brendan Rodgers replaced Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool manager in May Photo: Back Page Images

Brendan Rodgers insists that winning the Europa League is now one of his Liverpool side’s priorities this season.

The Reds face Zenit Saint-Petersburg in Russia on Thursday night in the first leg of their last-32 tie on the back of their shock 2-0 home defeat by West Bromwich on Monday night.

And after seeing his Liverpool side knocked out of both domestic cups, Rodgers insists that lifting Europe’s second-most prestigious trophy is now even more important to the Merseysiders.

Asked if the Europa League is a priority for Liverpool, Rodgers replied: “Yes, absolutely.

“This was always a competition we wanted to do well in. We went out of the domestic cups – one early on in the season when we had a young team playing and then obviously I made changes in the FA Cup game which we lost as well.

“This is certainly an important competition for us. Between now and the end of the season – both in this competition and the league – we want to give everything we can to making this a successful season.”

The Liverpool boss, whose side take on his former club Swansea next weekend, added: “We’ve put a lot of work into this competition in the early part of the season and I had it in my mind if we qualified, we could really have a good go at trying to do well.

“It’s the last cup competition we have to play for and one this football club has won before.

“We take great pride in being a winning club at Liverpool and it’s something that we want to consider this season.”