Kenny: We have to lift the fans
Kenny Dalglish today vowed his players will give everything to ensure Liverpool fans are celebrating on Wednesday night following the frustration of the weekend defeat at Bolton.
Dalglish remains bitterly disappointed with his team's display on a forgettable evening at the Reebok Stadium, but with a Wembley final now just 90 minutes away he's hoping the supporters will soon have reason to be smiling again.
The Reds have a 1-0 lead to protect when they welcome Manchester City to Anfield and although the prospect of another famous Anfield night is in store, Dalglish is warning a hard night's work lies ahead.
"We have a slight advantage, we just need to go into the game and compete," he said. "It's not going to be a game that's going to be anything other than really difficult for us. They got a fantastic result on Sunday against Tottenham which keeps them at the top of the league, so I'm sure they'll be well up for it.
"For us it's important to do our own job, and if we do that then a wee bit of luck as well wouldn't go amiss.
"Hopefully it will be a fantastic occasion for everyone. The punters will be turning up, there'll be loads of support for us but we need to do something that's going to get the supporters on our side. We can't always leave it for them to lift us, sometimes we need to lift them.
"We can't take it for granted that the fans are going to be there. We should never assume we're going to get the fantastic support that we do - we've got to earn that. They've got to see that we're up to put in a tremendous effort on Wednesday night to get a result for the club."
The Reds are looking for an immediate response to Dalglish's post-match comments at Bolton, in which he questioned the attitude of those in red shirts.
"I think what was said had to be said. At the end of the day I don't think anyone can object to the fact that we never played anything like we're capable of playing," said Dalglish.
"In the past we've rightly praised them when they've deserved it, we've given them plaudits when we've done well and we've congratulated them for the way they've gone about their work. When you've been critical it doesn't mean to say you're getting any pleasure from it because at the end of the day we're all in it together. It's not the coaching staff and the players, it's everybody.
"It's a difficult thing to do but I think it was an honest thing to do as well. I don't think anybody can hide behind a performance like we had on Saturday and I don't think anyone would try to do that. We've praised them when they've been good and we have to be honest in our appraisal when we've been bad as well."
And although Liverpool lie just 90 minutes away from a first Wembley appearance since 1996, Dalglish isn't prepared to look that far ahead just yet.
"Let's not be running away with ourselves, let's make sure we get the hard work done first."
The boss has reported no fresh injury worries ahead of the second leg.