Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk is confident they can find their best form quickly and insists consistency is key.
A fourth draw in seven Premier League games has left manager Jurgen Klopp admitting confidence is as big an issue as pace and momentum.
Speaking after the 3-3 draw with Brighton, a game in which the Reds came back from 2-0 down to lead, Van Dijk used the word “consistency” in four of his answers to seven questions.
But it will take actions rather than words to reverse a trend that has seen them keep just two clean sheets in 10 games, with the latest chaotic defensive display clinically exposed by a Seagulls team that hadn’t played for a month and was playing its first match. Match for a new manager.
Liverpool face two crucial weeks in which they face back-to-back games with Rangers that will go a long way in deciding their Champions League fate, interspersed with Premier League matches against leaders Arsenal and defending champions Manchester. City.
Van Dijk is optimistic they will find their place, but after losing more ground in the title race, they have to do so soon.
“We’ve been doing it for four years, five years consistently and we have to get back to that consistency, all of us. And we have to stick together,” she said.
“You have to be in the moment and that consistency is the hardest part of football.
“You have to do that together, face setbacks together and keep doing the same things you want to do.
“It’s hard to react in the right way if you’re not in the best possible shape, all of us, but I’m confident we will be.
“Four months ago we were playing for all the titles, now we are not in the best moment, but we will achieve it”.
Liverpool have not become a bad team overnight and in May they were 15 minutes from winning the Premier League and not that far from the Champions League final at the end of a season that could have seen them win a unprecedented quadruple.
That epic 63-match season was fueled by the drive to win match after match and Van Dijk insists there is no hangover from that or the disappointment of being so close to writing their names in history.
“No, no, not at all, there is no hangover from that,” he added.
“Obviously the teams are improving, we play in the best league in the world where all the teams can compete against each other.
“We have to get back to that consistency and play with joy and freedom, but it all starts with doing it together and working hard.
“I keep saying the same things, but we have to find that momentum.”
Brighton striker Leandro Trossard became only the third opponent to score a Premier League hat-trick at Anfield, after Coventry’s Peter Ndlovu (in 1995) and Arsenal’s Andrey Arshavin (2009).
The Belgium international paid tribute to new head coach Roberto De Zerbi, who was making his Premier League managerial debut after taking over from Graham Potter.
“He tried to work a lot on the technical stuff. I think we will have a good time with him,” Trossard said.
De Zerbi, in turn, thanked Potter, now at Chelsea, for leaving him with a team capable of playing the way he did at Anfield.
“I think Graham Potter deserves credit because he has left me a lot,” he said.
“I’ve tried not to hurt but of course, if you ask me when and how I can improve the team’s performance, it’s by playing much more with the ball.
“During training I try to convey intensity on the pitch and also passion. I don’t know if I’m a good coach but I know I’m very brave”.
