Brendan Rodgers has challenged his players to follow in the footsteps of those who wore red a decade ago against Olympiacos and etch their names into the club's history books by beating FC Basel.

It was 10 years ago this week that Liverpool were charged with defeating their final Champions League group opponents from Greece by a two-goal deficit on what became another truly famous night at Anfield.

To compound the difficulty of the task they faced in December 2004, the home side fell behind to a Rivaldo free-kick; however, they fought back with two second-half strikes, before Steven Gerrard hit the decisive goal from the edge of the Kop penalty area.

On Tuesday night, when Paulo Sousa's reigning Swiss champions arrive on Merseyside, the task in hand bears far fewer permutations - Rodgers' side must simply emerge victorious, by any deficit, in order to clinch qualification to the knockout stages.

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As he met the world's media on Monday afternoon to preview the team's final Group B clash, much of the talk centred upon the links to history and the parallels between what was required of Liverpool 10 years ago in the competition.

The manager insists his players can draw inspiration from past achievements, but he stressed the importance of the current crop of Reds heading out with the intention of creating their own landmarks at the club's L4 home.

"This is a competition that has a great history here for Liverpool and the Olympiacos game was a part of it," Rodgers told reporters gathered at Anfield for his pre-match press conference.

"It's an opportunity for the players now to qualify and make sure they write themselves into folklore by winning the game and ensuring they get into the next round, because that's the objective.

"We've shown over the last few weeks that the group is starting to come together again after a disappointing spell. We certainly haven't had the consistency this season. But slowly, game-by-game, I can see the differences in the team - the focus and the concentration.

"What we have in the squad is quality. We know it's going to be a tough game for us, but certainly playing at home here will help. We've seen on many occasions what the crowd can do here for the team.

"We can come together tomorrow night, hopefully get the victory, qualify for the next round and look to use it to give confidence in the rest of our games.



"We go into the game in good condition physically and mentally. We know what the job is. It's going to be a tough game. But Basel come here on the back of losing their away games in the group. So I'm sure they understand it's going to be a tough game for them."

Tributes marking the 10th anniversary of the Reds' victory over Olympiacos have focused on the player who took the game by the scruff of its neck with four minutes of normal time remaining to ensure the Reds would continue their quest in the competition.

Gerrard, 24 years old at the time, raced across the turf to meet Neil Mellor's glancing header, arrow a strike into the corner of the Kop net and spark chaotic scenes of celebration around Anfield.

Rodgers would naturally welcome a similarly decisive display from his skipper when the action gets underway against Basel - but the Northern Irishman insists it must not all be about Gerrard, as he implored other players to step up to the mantle.

"We can't rely solely on Steven, this has to be a team performance," insisted Rodgers. "We need other players to step up to the mark and take on responsibility and become the catalyst for the team and not just solely place it on his shoulders.

"There are very few world-class players around, so when you are that world-class talent, and you're in a team, that responsibility falls even more so on you.

"But for us, it's never been about that - it's been about the collective. For us to get the result tomorrow night, we need the whole team to be functioning well and producing a good level of performance."

Gerrard was powerless to prevent the Reds from enduring a 1-0 defeat against Basel in Switzerland in the second Group B game of the campaign, a result which arrived on the back of an uplifting opening-day victory over Ludogorets Razgrad at Anfield.

Rodgers admitted after the final whistle at St. Jakob-Park on October 1 that performance levels were not up to scratch, but he believes standards have improved singnificantly since then and that his side are much more focused than they were two months ago.

"There is certainly no lack of commitment from the players here," said the manager. "At that moment in time, we were probably a little bit soft in our defending and we maybe lacked a little bit of confidence in the team.

"We didn't play well, but we still felt we should have took something from the game. We conceded a disappointing goal from a corner.

"But that was one of the games in that little period where it was a learning curve for us. What we have shown in the last few weeks is, no matter what your talent is, you have to do the basics well. That's growing day-by-day with the team.

"We go into the game tomorrow night in a much better mindset than we were back then and where we were a couple of weeks ago. We know it is going to be a tough tie but we really need to focus and concentrate on ourselves here. "

The manager once again spoke of striking a balance between, on the one hand, using the passion generated by the supporters in the stands and ensuring that composure does not desert the players on the pitch.

"We don't need to win the game in the first minute," said Rodgers. "European football is technical and tactical - and it's about understanding we just need to win the game. We have 90 minutes plus to do that.

"We always have to have our concentration and focus. If we do that, I believe we will have a great chance, aligned with the supporters and the passion that they put in.

"We don't underestimate the opponent. Paulo has done an excellent job and Basel are obviously the top side in Switzerland and they show that in their performances. We respect them, but our objective is to win the game and our focus and concentration is purely on ourselves to do that.

"We need that patience in the game. We had it at the weekend when we weren't winning the game. Basel may sit back because they don't need to win the game, so we need to be able to move the ball from side to side to be able to penetrate."