Arne Slot is adamant Liverpool are up for a derby scrap against Everton - and has reiterated his belief his team will be a completely different proposition next season.
The Reds make a first-ever visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium for the 248th Merseyside derby on Sunday aiming to respond after being dumped out of the Champions League by holders Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
While Liverpool dominated possession for periods of the second half, an inability to score allowed PSG to snatch two late goals to seal a 4-0 aggregate triumph.
Their sole focus now will be on sealing Champions League qualification with Slot's side having a four-point buffer in fifth place ahead of the chasing pack, which includes Everton, who stand a further point adrift.
David Moyes's side hammered near rivals Chelsea 3-0 in their last home game with many Liverpool supporters braced for a serious examination of their team's physical and aerial capabilities.
But Slot has railed against suggestions the Reds may lack the appetite for battle against their neighbours and said: "If it’s true, would these same people have doubted how we would have performed against Paris Saint-Germain? Would they have thought they (PSG) are going to run over us and it’s going to be ridiculous?
"Then they saw a team that competed as hard as it did and worked as hard as it did.
"I cannot change the height of my players, so that’s the first thing, but I think my players have shown throughout this season after all the setbacks we’ve had – and we have had a lot – that they were able to compete again."
Liverpool's character has been called into question at times this season, not least when Virgil van Dijk claimed they had "given up" during their 4-0 FA Cup quarter-final humbling at Manchester City earlier this month.
But Slot said: "Now maybe there is a complete focus on that 20 minutes against City who, by the way, did the same thing at Stamford Bridge a week later when scoring three goals in 15 minutes.
"But I look at it that I’ve seen my team work hard every single game. Maybe the outcome doesn’t always show it but the question is always, what is working hard? Can you expect a player of a certain height to win a header against a taller player?
"But they will 100% work hard because they know what this game means to the fans and what it means to us."
With Hugo Ekitike ruled out for the season and Joe Gomez also missing, Slot faces a number of major selection decisions with left-back Andy Robertson, forwards Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo and teenage winger Rio Ngumoha all pressing hard for a recall.
Liverpool will finish the campaign without a trophy for the first time in three years and, with five of their remaining six Premier League games coming against teams immediately around them, face a genuine fight to maintain their Champions League berth.
Slot, though, is convinced the Reds are already turning the corner and that the likes of £116million Florian Wirtz is showing he can cope with the hectic nature of English football.
"Compare the players we have signed with the start of the season and where we are now," he said. "I see a difference, in a positive way.
"If you saw what Florian was able to do in his third game in seven days (against PSG on Tuesday) and you compare that to the start of the season and my first thought is then always Brentford (away) after we played Eintracht Frankfurt away. I see a big difference.
"Will there ever be another season where we concede so many goals in extra time? I don’t think that is even possible, so that would even add six, seven or eight points to our total.
"Will ever have a season with so many injuries again? You can’t rule it out but it is not realistic to have so much bad luck. And I can factor in even more things to this season.
"The main thing is how we were able to compete against Paris Saint-Germain after only being two days off, with them being rested for a week, how we have been able to compete against the other quarter-finalists here at home.
"Then you see that with doing the right things in the summer and not being as unlucky as we were this season, we can have a better season."
Slot added: "I think people only start to believe when they are seeing it. That means results, for now, and for next season when they are seeing the team, although I think the belief was really there last summer when we signed a few players.
"That’s usually what comes with a few signings, people get very excited by that. People usually first want to see it, and that’s what we need to do after the summer."
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.
Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.
