THE VENUE: Stamford Bridge. The time: tomorrow afternoon. The scene: Fernando Torres has raced clear of the Liverpool FC defence and has only Pepe Reina to beat.

Score, and Chelsea win the game with the striker delivering a hammer blow to his former club’s Champions League qualification hopes.
Reina, though, is in no doubt what will happen.

“I will break his leg!” laughs the goalkeeper. “But seriously, it will be strange to play against him once again and to see him in blue is kind of strange.”

Coming up against compatriot Torres at Stamford Bridge serves as a reminder for Reina of how different life was at Anfield barely 12 months ago.

The striker’s indifferent performances during the months before his January departure epitomised the desperate times both on and off the field under former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett that ultimately took Liverpool into the relegation zone and to the brink of administration.

But with Torres gone, the Anfield outfit have rebuilt, Luis Suarez swiftly assuming the role of Kop darling surrounded by a host of new players that have engendered fresh belief among both the squad and supporters.

“I think that's what we have to do,” says Reina. “What we need to keep is that Fernando scored a fantastic number of goals for Liverpool.

“He was once the people's favourite. We have to carry on. We've said it many times, there is no-one bigger than Liverpool. Players come and go, managers come and go, but the club will always stay.”

Indeed, Reina could easily have followed Torres out the door in the summer with Arsenal offering the promise of Champions League football.

But the keeper, who the previous season penned a six-year contract, believes he is once again in the right place to fulfil his ambitions.

“From the very first day I have been here, the people were very supportive, very warm and very respectful to me,” says Reina. “When I had doubts, my wife was the first to remind me of that once again.

“My family has always been there for me. I can guarantee you that right now they like Liverpool even more than I do – and that's a lot!

“But the bad times were tough moment for everybody. Everybody around Melwood and around Liverpool were sad with the club, with the team and the performances.