Andy Robertson admits that Liverpool’s season has ‘been worse’ in 2023.
Sunday’s FA Cup fourth round exit at Brighton & Hove Albion was the fourth time Jurgen Klopp’s side have tasted defeat in the current calendar year.
A late strike by Kaoru Mitoma helped the Seagulls end the Reds’ reign as holders of the world’s most famous club cup competition with a 2-1 win.
It marks the latest nadir of a bleak campaign for the Anfield club, who have already exited the Carabao Cup and sit ninth in the Premier League table.
And Robertson is under no illusions that Liverpool’s downturn in fortunes since the post-World Cup break is below the standards they have set.
He said: “We need to start winning games, it’s easy to say but harder to fix. It’s proven that way. This season has been nowhere near good enough.
“At the turn of the year we wanted a new start and it’s definitely not got off to that, we’ve probably been worse.
“In the league, we’ve not been anywhere near good enough.
“Out of the League Cup against Man City, which was a tough game and settled by one goal, and again today. [Going] out of both cups, it’s really disappointing.
“You can’t put your finger on one thing that’s wrong, it’s more than that. It’s trying to put in a performance together where all these things click, and that’s proving difficult.
“You can tell we are not as confident in front of goal, you can tell defensively we are still a wee bit open in certain areas.
“We’re on the back of two clean sheets, which is a positive, but today two disappointing goals and they had a couple of big chances as well.
“We need to try and get the confidence back, but it’s easier said than done. That’s the only way we can pick up results.
“You have to be able to score goals and keep clean sheets, it’s how you win games and we’re not managing that just now.
“We need to do it quick, but we keep saying that. It doesn’t help the fans, we feel sorry for them the way we’re putting on a show for them.
“They were unbelievable and we let them down again and we’re obviously disappointed to be out of the cup.”