Sammy Lee is backing the Kop to rise to the occasion and help turn Anfield into a fortress once more during 2008-09.
Our assistant manager believes the fans will be in buoyant mood for the league clash against Middlesbrough on Saturday as the Reds attempt to draw a line under last season's mixed home form.
"It's massive, absolutely massive," Lee told Liverpoolfc.tv when asked about the importance of the first home match of the season.
"As always our fans will play their part and we don't make light of the fact that they are our 12th man.
"It'll be a cauldron and a fortress and a 12th man. All the players are looking forward to playing in front of this crowd. It can be a very intimidating place and we don't hope it will be a 12th man, we know it will be.
"We rely upon that because it's great to have home support. We came away from Liege where their support was terrific but we've also had great support there and at Sunderland.
"It's always nice to get back to Anfield and hear that roar and hopefully it can lift the players and they can put the frighteners up Middlesbrough.
"We know they had a great win on the opening day and it will be a difficult game for us. There are no easy games anymore. I know it's a cliché but the more I look at it the more I realise there aren't any easy games and we can expect a real test."
A victory against Middlesbrough would make it two league wins out of two for the Reds and while Lee would be delighted with another three points, he is unwilling to get carried away.
"It's all about winning," he said. "If you win regularly things fall into place but we must keep working hard and make sure we win the next game.
"We can't look any further than that. If we keep doing that hopefully we can get the success we feel we are capable of achieving.
"We want to improve on a daily basis. I'm not going to give false promises apart from saying that everyone is working tirelessly to get back to where we feel we belong and I think we all know where we belong.
"This is a great league. We know the difficulties but we also know the rewards and it would be a great league to win. Everyone has the ambition and desire to gain success and we all know what we have to do."
Lee also had words of praise for boss Rafa Benitez, who he feels has the tactical know-how to lead Liverpool to further glory.
"Rafa's fantastic to work with," he said.
"I knew about him beforehand and had a good relationship when I was at Bolton. He's a football man, he's a great man. His attention to detail is fantastic and he's a terrific guy to work with."
Our assistant manager believes the fans will be in buoyant mood for the league clash against Middlesbrough on Saturday as the Reds attempt to draw a line under last season's mixed home form.
"It's massive, absolutely massive," Lee told Liverpoolfc.tv when asked about the importance of the first home match of the season.
"As always our fans will play their part and we don't make light of the fact that they are our 12th man.
"It'll be a cauldron and a fortress and a 12th man. All the players are looking forward to playing in front of this crowd. It can be a very intimidating place and we don't hope it will be a 12th man, we know it will be.
"We rely upon that because it's great to have home support. We came away from Liege where their support was terrific but we've also had great support there and at Sunderland.
"It's always nice to get back to Anfield and hear that roar and hopefully it can lift the players and they can put the frighteners up Middlesbrough.
"We know they had a great win on the opening day and it will be a difficult game for us. There are no easy games anymore. I know it's a cliché but the more I look at it the more I realise there aren't any easy games and we can expect a real test."
A victory against Middlesbrough would make it two league wins out of two for the Reds and while Lee would be delighted with another three points, he is unwilling to get carried away.
"It's all about winning," he said. "If you win regularly things fall into place but we must keep working hard and make sure we win the next game.
"We can't look any further than that. If we keep doing that hopefully we can get the success we feel we are capable of achieving.
"We want to improve on a daily basis. I'm not going to give false promises apart from saying that everyone is working tirelessly to get back to where we feel we belong and I think we all know where we belong.
"This is a great league. We know the difficulties but we also know the rewards and it would be a great league to win. Everyone has the ambition and desire to gain success and we all know what we have to do."
Lee also had words of praise for boss Rafa Benitez, who he feels has the tactical know-how to lead Liverpool to further glory.
"Rafa's fantastic to work with," he said.
"I knew about him beforehand and had a good relationship when I was at Bolton. He's a football man, he's a great man. His attention to detail is fantastic and he's a terrific guy to work with."
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