Roy Hodgson admits he will face something of a balancing act to keep Liverpool fighting on all fronts if they're to progress in Europe this season.
The Reds take on Trabzonspor in the first leg of the Europa League play-off tie at Anfield this evening aiming to take a big step towards the group stage of the competition.
It's a tournament Hodgson holds fond feeling for, having guided former club Fulham to the Hamburg final last term against all odds.
However, he acknowledges an extended European jaunt - in addition to the international scheduled - can have a knock-on effect on a team's domestic aspirations, such is the demand it places on players.
But the manager will be doing all he can to ensure that does not happen at Anfield this season.
"I had a good squad at Fulham and we didn't have too many injuries, so I was quite fortunate in that respect," Hodgson told a pre-match press conference.
"But, quite frankly, if you're at a club like Liverpool or Fulham, you've got a lot of players playing international matches and I think asking a player to play 70 matches a year is totally out of the question.
"I don't think any club can carry the strength or depth of squad to deal with 70 matches, so you'd need an awful lot of luck to go all the way.
"I thought last year's experience with Fulham in getting to the final cost us several places in the league."
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