Rafael Benitez insists Liverpool must hit the ground running when they open their Champions League campaign on Wednesday against Hungarian newcomers Debrecen in a Group E match at Anfield.
The Reds chief has underlined the importance of a winning start in Europe to avoid needless pressure in the club's domestic campaign, and to boost their coffers.
He recalled the situation two seasons ago when Liverpool lost their opening two group matches to Marseille and Besiktas and caused themselves dreadful problems in qualifying for the next stage - with the side winning only five of nine Premier League games during that fraught period.
That season they struggled to finish fourth in the league. Last term, when Liverpool won both their opening group matches, they ended the season as runners-up after a far less frantic campaign.
Benitez also underlined the importance, in terms of cash, of Liverpool progressing to the latter stages.
He said: "Money is important to us and it is also important for the name of this club to see us progressing to the final stages. This season, especially, it is very important.
"We always know we must start well in the group, to win your first match and then to analyse the match between the other two teams in the group, Fiorentina and Lyon.
"We lost our first game a couple of seasons ago against Marseille. That caused us a lot of problems and it was hard to qualify from the group.
"We must start well, the first game is vital. We must be in control of the group straight away because we then go to Florence next and Fiorentina will be tough, all Italian teams are tough at this level."
Last season Liverpool were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Chelsea after a remarkable 4-4 second-leg draw at Stamford Bridge, a result that still hurts Benitez.
He added: "The Champions League is a special competition, particularly for this club.
"You always want to win and the way we went out of the tournament last season in those games with Chelsea is still a disappointment that I feel, and the players too.
"It is always important to progress in Europe, you lose and it becomes a big problem.
"You lose confidence and you lose money. This season we face teams we have not played in Europe before and Debrecen is a club appearing for the first time.
"That will be a concern for us. We do have some reports and information but we do not know too much about them at the moment.
"But I will soon have more reports and videos to watch. It is important that we make a good start in the competition."
For Debrecen, this is a step into the unknown; their first match in the Champions League proper after becoming the first team from Hungary to qualify for the group stage since Ferencvaros in 1995-96.
Debrecen won five of their six games in qualifying, including away at Levadia Tallin and Levski Sofia, but they know they face a much tougher test at Anfield.
Liverpool are competing in their sixth successive group-stage campaign and not once have they failed to reach the last 16.
For Debrecen, this is the second time they have visited England in the competition, and they will hope to fare better than the previous occasion, when they lost 3-0 to Manchester United in a third qualifying round tie in August 2005 - the first instalment of a 6-0 aggregate defeat.
There are four survivors in Debrecen's squad from that last visit to the north west. Tibor Dombi played while Csaba Bernath, Zoltan Kiss and Adam Komlosi were on the bench. Kiss and Dombi featured in the return.
The Reds chief has underlined the importance of a winning start in Europe to avoid needless pressure in the club's domestic campaign, and to boost their coffers.
He recalled the situation two seasons ago when Liverpool lost their opening two group matches to Marseille and Besiktas and caused themselves dreadful problems in qualifying for the next stage - with the side winning only five of nine Premier League games during that fraught period.
That season they struggled to finish fourth in the league. Last term, when Liverpool won both their opening group matches, they ended the season as runners-up after a far less frantic campaign.
Benitez also underlined the importance, in terms of cash, of Liverpool progressing to the latter stages.
He said: "Money is important to us and it is also important for the name of this club to see us progressing to the final stages. This season, especially, it is very important.
"We always know we must start well in the group, to win your first match and then to analyse the match between the other two teams in the group, Fiorentina and Lyon.
"We lost our first game a couple of seasons ago against Marseille. That caused us a lot of problems and it was hard to qualify from the group.
"We must start well, the first game is vital. We must be in control of the group straight away because we then go to Florence next and Fiorentina will be tough, all Italian teams are tough at this level."
Last season Liverpool were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Chelsea after a remarkable 4-4 second-leg draw at Stamford Bridge, a result that still hurts Benitez.
He added: "The Champions League is a special competition, particularly for this club.
"You always want to win and the way we went out of the tournament last season in those games with Chelsea is still a disappointment that I feel, and the players too.
"It is always important to progress in Europe, you lose and it becomes a big problem.
"You lose confidence and you lose money. This season we face teams we have not played in Europe before and Debrecen is a club appearing for the first time.
"That will be a concern for us. We do have some reports and information but we do not know too much about them at the moment.
"But I will soon have more reports and videos to watch. It is important that we make a good start in the competition."
For Debrecen, this is a step into the unknown; their first match in the Champions League proper after becoming the first team from Hungary to qualify for the group stage since Ferencvaros in 1995-96.
Debrecen won five of their six games in qualifying, including away at Levadia Tallin and Levski Sofia, but they know they face a much tougher test at Anfield.
Liverpool are competing in their sixth successive group-stage campaign and not once have they failed to reach the last 16.
For Debrecen, this is the second time they have visited England in the competition, and they will hope to fare better than the previous occasion, when they lost 3-0 to Manchester United in a third qualifying round tie in August 2005 - the first instalment of a 6-0 aggregate defeat.
There are four survivors in Debrecen's squad from that last visit to the north west. Tibor Dombi played while Csaba Bernath, Zoltan Kiss and Adam Komlosi were on the bench. Kiss and Dombi featured in the return.
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