The Premier League's oldest managers meet on Merseyside as Ange Postecoglou braces to fight for his future at Tottenham.
Postecoglou's injury-depleted team have collected just five points from nine league games since the start of December.
They are languishing in 14th place and he admits results need to improve, but fiercely refutes any idea that he might not be up to the challenge.
“I understand what it could look like,” said the Spurs boss. 'I understand that there are people externally who are probably saying, 'God, he must be living in a nightmare.' But it is not my existence.
'It's a big challenge, I understand that. The responsibility weighs heavily on me. I feel it, I feel the pain of it. I feel the disappointment of it. But I'm a fighter and this is where I want to be.
“I want to find a way to get us out of this so we can reap the rewards of the tough battles we've had, and because of that context it doesn't affect me in the way people might think.
'And I always think about the alternative, which is not participating. Maybe I'd look a little younger and prettier, but I'd be pretty bored.”
Postecoglou was happy to see David Moyes back in the Premier League eight months after leaving West Ham. He returned to Goodison Park for a second time and was charged with soothing Everton's relegation fears.
“I'm very happy to see him back because it means I'm not the oldest in the Premier League anymore,” he joked. 'If we can get Roy Hodgson off a beach somewhere I'll be even happier.'
They are both 61 and 59 and both have years of work ahead of them, but they have been through the stress test and have the experience to handle the pressure.
“I'm better equipped to deal with this at my age than when I was younger,” Postecoglou said. 'I feel like I still have the energy to finally complete the task. It's not that it bothers me. It helps me in situations like this.
'That is the challenge for younger managers. There is such a short-term view of most things in life these days and especially football. How do you resist all these claims about how you should do your job, which is now a constant.
'You never get any breathing space to say, 'Oh well, let's see how this works out,' it's more like, 'No, this isn't working, there has to be a change.' Again, it comes down to individuals and education.
“David is probably in a similar shape to me and our upbringing was that when you're going through a tough time, you roll up your sleeves and work hard. There's a premise there that's still quite effective.”
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