Jürgen Klopp insists Liverpool must approach the FA Cup with the ambition of winning the competition ahead of their third round tie with League Two side Plymouth Argyle at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

The Reds host their lower league opponents in their first home game of the 2017 calendar year, with the manager expected to name a much-changed starting eleven.

But he insists the changes aren't because they have other games of higher priority coming up, rather that Liverpool need to freshen up their options in order to win the game after enduring a hectic fixture schedule of late.

We want to have success, says Reds boss

"Whatever I could say is not good enough if the players don't want it," Klopp said, insisting that his squad "want to have success" and "want to take each chance they can get" for it.

The manager insisted that the players make it "pretty easy" for him to motivate them, explaining: "It's not like I do something like [set off] a firework before cup games and say: 'We have no chance to win the Premier League, so we have to find another way'."

Klopp explained that's "not how it is" and therefore said they "don't think like this" because they "really want to win football games" which has "until now" worked "well" for them.

He said that every cup game is "always an opportunity" and "always a nice chance", which he says is how they see "it with all the cup competitions."

The German told journalists that they know better than he does that the FA Cup is "a historical tournament" and vowed that Liverpool will "try everything to win it."

He also looked forward to the first-leg of their EFL Cup semi-final away at Southampton on Wednesday, insisting that it's "not an easy game" but a "pretty exciting" one that they "look forward to."

'We will pick a team that can win the game'

And on the possibility of changes, with the manager likely to utilise the depth of his squad for the visit of the Pilgrims, Klopp continued: "I made my judgement already about them, it doesn't change. I don't [not] let them for a few weeks then give them one game and say, 'Oh obviously you're not ready'."

He explained that they "will have a team that has a good chance to win the game", which is how they "pick the team", and declared that they will face a "very confident opponent" in Derek Adams' side.

He said that they "have a really long travel" up to Merseyside, but said because they are "second in the league" and "lost their first game for a long period in the last game" that Liverpool "have to respect" their opponents.

Although the fourth-tier outfit are 67 places down the Football League ladder, Klopp insists they are still "professional football players" but says it's "all clear" that Liverpool "want to enjoy the game and go to the next round."

He declared that it isn't about him "making an assessment of the players and saying they are not ready" and adding: "The players I pick, they are ready, and if they are not ready - it's my fault, not their fault."

Klopp: There's a long way to go but we know what this team is capable of

And asked what he hopes to achieve throughout the remainder of the current campaign, Klopp hinted at a title tilt: "Success, staying healthy and fit, things like this. I know what would be the maximum success, of course, but I'm not sure we can do it."

He said that they "work to make it a little bit more likely" and said that they have been "convinced about the quality" since before the season when a lot of questions were asked of them, Klopp stating that they "had a lot of problems with injuries" but "coped with it" and were "all absolutely okay."

"That's what we have to do again," continued Klopp - who said that the staff and squad "know more" about themselves, insisting that they thought a title challenge "could work" at the start of the season but that they "know it can work" now.

The Reds boss warned that there is still "a long way to go, a lot of games to play, [and] a lot of problems to solve" as he spoke about what lies ahead the rest of the season.

He revealed that after Sunderland, he told his players that their six-day rest between then and the clash with Plymouth was their "break of the year", adding in reflection of the first-half of the season: "So far, so good. Not perfect, but all in a good way, so [we] keep going."