The Liverpool skipper recalls the disappointment of losing last season's Champions League final against AC Milan in Athens - a nightmare for the Anfield club and their fans on and off the field.

And Gerrard wants the Liverpool team to do their bit to make up for that terrible night in May.

The Merseysiders start this season's campaign in Toulouse for the third qualifying round, having spent $100million on new players and knowing that failure to reach the group stages is unthinkable.

Gerrard said: "I've seen highlights of the Milan game but I don't need to watch it back. You know as a player what has gone wrong or right.

"I know what I did wrong and right, and what the team did wrong or right, but it's time to move on."

He told uefa.com: "Obviously you read magazines and papers and you listen to fans about Athens, and you obviously know it's a big blow we didn't bring the trophy home, but you've got to move on in football.

"We have to look now at our goals and dreams for this year, and that's to win more trophies. Everyone knows the Premier League is the priority but if we can go a long way in the European Cup again it would obviously be great for the club and the fans.

"Athens can be a spur. It was a big blow for everyone involved but good players and big clubs bounce back. You only have to look at AC Milan and how many finals they've reached over the years.

"We've got to use their attitude. They lost to us in the Istanbul final a couple of years ago but bounced back to win in Athens. Who's to say we can't do the same?"

But first Liverpool must get past a very tricky qualifier against the surprise side that finished third in the French league last term.

This is Toulouse's first time in the competition, and their coach Elie Baup admitted: "It's more than a mountain to climb - it's the Himalayas."

Only eight years ago Toulouse were playing third division football and in recent seasons the club have been more accustomed to fighting relegation than contemplating Europe.

Baup said: "In some ways it's the best draw we could have hoped for. It has created a buzz around the club as Toulouse are not a big name in French football."

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, however, is not likely to fall for the underdogs tag the French have given themselves, and he will not under-estimate the French side.

He said: "Toulouse are a good side with some good players. The French league is of a high standard and so this won't be an easy game but I'm happy for two reasons.

"The travelling won't be a problem, and the second leg will be at Anfield in front of our supporters."

But Wednesday could pose its own problems. The game will be played in mid-afternoon to accommodate TV schedules in France and the UK, and that means temperatures of 30 degrees plus.

The French players will be used to that, maybe not the Merseysiders, although the intense heat in Hong Kong for pre-season matches will have helped the Liverpool players.

And they will also have to contend with Toulouse's star striker Johan Elmander, who hit a hat-trick on the last day of the campaign against Bordeaux that secured a 3-1 win and lifted Toulouse from seventh to third in the table.

Elmander is a former team-mate of Liverpool's Daniel Agger when the pair were both at Brondby, and left Denmark last summer to sign a four-year deal.

His 11 goals in 32 games have won the attention of Marseille, West Ham and Manchester City and many in France are surprised he has not been snapped up by a bigger club.