I’ll be honest – Trabzon is no holiday resort, not a destination you’d pick for a quiet week away in autumn. Yes, the weather is usually good in this port town set against the Black Sea, but still it’s not enough to tempt the average holiday-maker to make the long journey (in our case London via Istanbul – with a five-hour stopover at the airport).

When Liverpool arrived on Wednesday it was warm and sunny, a pleasant temperature, but on game night on Thursday it was an altogether different story. The heavens opened on the Huseyin Avni Aker stadium shortly before kick-off and the thunderous clatter from the home crowd made it a biblical kind of setting.

It seemed like from my vantage point on the touchline that fate was against Liverpool, and why not, as when they last ventured out to this part of the world in 1976, they famously lost 1-0 in the European Cup. So even history was against them.

My fear was realised when Teofilo, the Colombian forward for Trabzonspor, poked the Turks ahead in the opening minutes; the Reds were standing looking at each other drenched in the pouring rain, it was a Turkish mud-bath.

Now it takes a resilient team to recover from a deficit in Turkey, the crowd can rise against you and the atmosphere out here can sap your energy; but recover Liverpool certainly did. At half-time Roy Hodgson did what he does best, he persuaded his team not to panic by talking to them calmly, rather than drying them off with the hairdryer treatment. A more settled team emerged after his team talk, they looked self-assured again.

The Merseysiders started to fight back, and although they didn’t silence the passionate home fans (could anyone?), they did dampen their enthusiasm by keeping the ball. Slowly they started to take control, with Roy looking on from the sidelines in a comforting manner.

Liverpool’s fortunes changed late in the second half when an own goal from Giray gave them the vital away goal; it all but finished off the tie. Just as I was thinking, why were we ever worried? I turned and saw Dirk Kuyt slot in the second. The newspapers had suggested Dirk wanted out of Anfield, but he confirmed to me after the game that he wanted no such thing, and that in fact he was looking to win trophies with the club he has now grown to love. His words would have given Hodgson a boost, but in any case there was no way Roy would have let him leave at such a late stage of the transfer window.

So Roy Hodgson’s love affair with the Europa League continues, and Liverpool ended their Turkish hoo-doo (they had never beaten a Turkish side on their own soil). It was a result they badly needed after the humiliation they suffered at Manchester City three days previously. I also liked Roy’s honesty in his post-match interview with me – he admitted he was relieved to have qualified, not because a defeat would have meant a disastrous week, but because next week he attends a meeting at UEFA with other coaches, and had his team been eliminated he would have had to suffer an embarrassing conversation with his peers!

I leave Turkey with some good memories, despite the drenching we took. I’ll remember our pre-match meal with one of the Trabzonspor coaches, and I won’t forget how welcome they made us feel. This was a dream match for the Turks, they still talk about 1976 and the last time Liverpool visited at every available opportunity, and you could see their appreciation for this current Reds team – when Liverpool scored the home support actually clapped. That was a classy touch.

Now I know as a reporter I should not be biased towards any team, but I have to concede I was relieved when Liverpool won, because had Trabzon knocked them out we were going to be taken on a midnight fishing trip out on the Black Sea with the Trabzonspor coaching staff. It was their way of celebrating. That would have been an adventure, but fishing in the dark is not something I’m keen on, especially with a 6.55am flight back to Istanbul scheduled the next morning. So it’s goodbye Trabzon for now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if our paths crossed again sometime soon, this is after all a team going in the right direction (they’re not a bad bet for the Turkish championship this season by the way....)

get rid of Roy, get a manager that knows his stuff, thats the only solution. Do it quick before Torres and Gerrard come to their senses and leave.