Brendan Rodgers used the pre-Man Utd game press conference to insist that Liverpool's ambition was more than finishing above 6th placed Manchester United.
Liverpool travel to Old Trafford for the second time this season, hoping to make amends for an early League Cup defeat.
The Anfield giants won the Premier League clash between the two sides back in September - a 1-0 victory that took Liverpool to the top of the league in the early days of this seasons campaign.
If Liverpool win on Sunday they will be 14 points ahead of Man United. Rodgers was asked about the potential significance of this, but he said:
"The benchmark for us is the best
"First of all we are always challenging the team at the top - not Manchester United, who are further down.
He went on,
"Liverpool has its own great history both domestically and in European football so for us the benchmark has always been the best and we will always look to do that.
"I never said when I came in here we wanted to be fourth. Top four is where we want to be but Liverpool will always be judged on being the best, both here and in Europe not against Manchester United.
Brendan was asked about the current situation at Old Trafford.
He expressed his understanding of David Moyes position - but reminded the press that Man Utd did comfortably win last season's Premier League.
"I have empathy for the pressures which come with taking over such a huge club.
"It is incomparable the states of the two clubs because they were champions, there are serial winners in there, and when I came to this club they were eighth. The rebuilding and remodelling of the two clubs was totally different.
"We are only concentrating on ourselves. They have some great players, they have probably one of the largest wage bills so they have top players there but I don't know the dressing room well enough to know where they are at."
"Our focus is only on Liverpool.
Liverpool travel to Man Utd in the weekend's stand out fixture on Sunday at 1:30pm.