You can always rely on Harry Redknapp for an honest assessment, and he didn’t disappoint on Sunday when he savagely put the Europa League into its correct context.
Asked about the merits of a competition even its creators UEFA deem worthy only of a Thursday teatime slot – alongside Countdown – he couldn’t even bring himself to answer.
Instead, he sighed and rolled his eyes towards the Anfield bootroom ceiling, as though his new mutt had crapped on the carpet once more. Because that’s what the Europa League is – tiresome, time-consuming, draining toilet-training for clubs’ young pups.
No wonder Liverpool looked disinterested at Anfield at the weekend in a game billed as a fifth-place firecracker. No touch-paper was ever lit because, in truth, neither side truly saw the merits of victory.
What Spurs did show, of course, was the minimum quality required to compete with the big boys in the top four, a quality that admirably illuminated the Champions League almost as much as any club in that competition this season.
The fear for Liverpool fans after Sunday is that the feel-good factor has dissipated because early-season weaknesses were exposed once more, and it is certainly true that Kenny Dalglish still has much distance to travel if his team are to become genuine contenders.
Yet it is perhaps rash to rush into judgement on that one performance, because the sneaking suspicion lingers that both sides were less than convinced about the benefits of the Europa League.
Put is this way, if Spurs complete the job on Sunday and finish fifth, who will be in a better position to challenge for the top four next season, them or Liverpool?
For my money, if Tottenham have to pursue the dreaded Thursday-Sunday cycle, and Liverpool are clear to concentrate solely on the Premier League - without the distraction of trips to the far-flung outposts of the old Soviet empire that all seem to, rather lazily, begin with the letter A - then it’s a no contest.
Being in the Europa League is a massive drain on energy and morale, even if you take the perfectly understandable route of blooding kids and squad players in the early rounds.
It is no coincidence that Manchester City’s season was resurrected after they exited the competition this season, likewise Liverpool.
The Europa League is a nightmare of logistics that disrupts the rhythm of the campaign far more seriously than the Champions League does.
If I were in charge at Anfield, I’d send an instruction out on Sunday to ensure they didn’t win at Aston Villa.
Yes, it is European competition, but only just – and barely worthy of the name.
There is no money in it, precious little credibility, and the travelling is a true nightmare, as are the countless Thursday nights.
Far better to avoid the damn thing altogether, because the prize of a top four finish next season is far greater.
If Liverpool can avoid midweek excursions, they are free to concentrate all week at the training ground on the weekend’s upcoming encounter, and that can confer a massive advantage over those sides embroiled in Europe.
It took Manchester United and Arsenal years to work out the delicate balancing act of European and domestic competition, and still they are occasionally troubled by it.
Manchester City, with their first Champions League campaign upcoming, may struggle to deal with both demands.
If Liverpool have just the league to contend with, they would be in prime position to take advantage should City struggle to juggle their commitments – as Tottenham eventually did to their cost this season.
Being back in the top four next season is Liverpool’s primary aim – indeed, their ONLY aim – because they are a club whose history and tradition dictates they must be among English football’s elite.
Dalglish has shown he is the man to deliver that prize and, even though Spurs offered a small dose of reality to Anfield on Sunday, with three or four smart signings in the summer Liverpool will undoubtedly be far more competitive next time.
The Europa League is a dog’s mess of a competition and, until UEFA see sense and make radical alterations, it really should be avoided at all costs because, in the greater scheme of things, it just doesn’t matter.
Players won’t come to your club because you’re in it, and accountants won’t even thank you for being in it, so what is the point?
Of course, UEFA could change all this instantly, by making it an immediately exciting knockout competition and placing it into the fixture list on alternative Wednesdays to the Champions League. But they are not exactly renowned for doing the sensible thing, are they?
So, come Sunday, don’t be surprised if you see both Liverpool and Spurs looking somewhat indifferent in their respective matches, because the losers in the race for fifth place will surely be the winners next season.
