McAllister: We all want to succeed in Europe
Gary McAllister has experienced the elation of European success with Liverpool and insists that there's no shortage of desire to emulate such a feat this season.
As the Reds prepare to kick off their Europa League campaign at Bordeaux on Thursday night, it's no surprise that the first-team coach is reminiscing about his memories of the competition.
It was in McAllister's debut year with the club that the former midfielder was a talismanic figure in guiding the younger players around him to UEFA Cup glory.
The Scot's coolly-taken penalty was the difference in the semi-final against Barcelona and he was on target from 12 yards once more in the subsequent showpiece with Alaves.
Eight goals were shared by the sides on a thrilling night in Dortmund before a McAllister free-kick from the flank forced a golden goal that handed Liverpool the trophy.
As you would imagine therefore, he's approaching the tournament with relish – and believes everyone at Melwood shares his enthusiasm for potential silverware.
“Having experienced it as the UEFA Cup, it's very important as far I'm concerned,” the 50-year-old told Liverpoolfc.com.
“It brought me some wonderful memories and it was a fantastic final against Alaves so, for me, my take on it is that we want to go as far as we possibly can.
“It's a long run, it's a lot of games, I'm not so sure if I'm a fan of the structure of the Europa League, but once you get to the nitty gritty of the last eight it's obviously a competition worth winning and Liverpool have got a history of winning it.
“My generation of player, I associate Liverpool with success in Europe, whether it be in the old UEFA Cup, the old European Cup – or Champions League and Europa League.
“So I'm sure it's something the manager and everybody here, all of the players, want to do well in.”