Champions League live scores, results: Real Madrid v Liverpool, Arsenal v Anderlecht - Brendan's boys must tough it out in Madrid without Gerrard

True to form, though, at his Bernabeu press conference last night, Rodgers viewed what lies ahead as an 'opportunity not a threat.'

For more than two decades the 41-year-old from Carnlough has been coaching kids and men never to hide on a football field.

He practises what he preaches... determined to walk towards a steep climb and take it on rather than run away from it... literally on occasion such as when two weeks after guiding Swansea into the Premier League, instead of basking in the glory of it all, he trekked up Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, in aid of a cancer charity and in memory of his late parents.

Another example of not taking the easy route: after his dream of becoming a young professional footballer ended because of injury, he took the difficult decision to stay in England to try and make a life for himself as a coach when most would have returned to the home comforts of Northern Ireland.

People may prefer to talk about his footballing philosophy, but don't underestimate the Ulsterman's mental strength. He is one tough cookie.

He'll need to be in the coming days because, in terms of the quality of opposition, Brendan's about to encounter one of the most testing periods of his managerial career on the back of recent poor results, lacklustre performances and the failure of just about every single summer signing to deliver on a consistent basis.

It's a far cry from last season when Rodgers inspired Liverpool to play their most breathtaking football since the late 80s, almost guiding the club to what would have been the most stunning title victory in Premier League history.

The thing is once you scale those heights, the expectation is that you will get there again or go higher, even if you reached that level much sooner than planned.

This season Rodgers has been climbing the mountain without key tools (Luis Suarez now in Barcelona and Daniel Sturridge injured) but that should not excuse the dire displays at Basel in the Champions League and West Ham and Newcastle in the Premier League, all of which ended in defeat.

With four league losses already, dreams of another title tilt appear to have vanished, but that doesn't mean the team should disappear as they did on Tyneside.

While the new recruits were poor, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho and Joe Allen, all crucial last term, were awful too. Taking on mighty Madrid tonight, then champions elect Chelsea on Saturday, Liverpool's players have to step up.

Even if, as expected, Liverpool lose to Real, they must go down fighting. At their best under Rodgers, Liverpool play with possession and pace, they press and they penetrate. It is glorious to watch.

Showing the steel of the manager will be more important tonight.