Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson believes his side can claw their way back into the top four despite a disappointing start to the season.
The Reds have enjoyed a mini-revival in recent weeks ahead of their substandard loss to Stoke City on the weekend which saw them drop to 11th.
Hodgson is maintaining belief that Liverpool are good enough to peg back the six points that keeps them out of the top echelon of teams whilst remaining realistic at the same time.
"Luckily for us the league is so tight, so maybe if we can get it right and get a few people back to fitness then we can begin matching those expectations more consistently," he said.
"It's a very tight league there is no question of that, and it could be to our benefit this season, because sides will keep dropping points, but it doesn't hide the fact we have got a lot of work to do.
"Not every time you win a game are you flying forward, and not every time you lose are you catapulted backwards. I think you have to look longer term, and make your judgements over the 55 games or so that we play in a season.
"I am realistic. I am not going to get euphoric when we play well against Chelsea and I'm certainly not going to be anything other than determined to move on again when we lose.
"We have to learn our lessons from this one, try to get people fit and move on, and keep working on progressing, because it won't happen overnight."
