While Liverpool have floundered around aimlessly in the dark for much of a tortuous campaign, there has been one consistent chink of light to which the rest of the team would be wise to follow.
So Alisson Becker is perhaps better placed than most to pass verdict on a season that, while still more than two months from its conclusion, is already guaranteed to have significant ramifications for the future.
And the goalkeeper hit the nail on the head when asked to assess the Reds' Champions League round of 16 elimination at Real Madrid on Wednesday, when any hope of a stirring comeback was dashed by a subdued and increasingly disinterested performance from Jurgen Klopp's side.
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“We had a fantastic, incredible game against Manchester United," said the goalkeeper. "Soon after, an inexplicable game against Bournemouth. And against Real Madrid, it’s not that we played badly, but we didn’t play enough to tie the game. There was a lack of attitude, a lot was lacking on our part.”
Alisson has been aware of the issue for some time. This was the keeper speaking after the Premier League defeat at United back in August.
“Teams, when they play against us, they know the way we play and they try to exploit that and they try to use that against us," he said. “How do we change it? With our attitude changing that. Sometimes during the games we make a few mistakes that you get punished for that."
Here was the Brazilian discussing the deeply unimpressive 2-1 win against Leicester City over the Christmas period, shortly after the resumption of the Premier League campaign following the World Cup.
"It's going to be a really important moment of the season now and we have to focus," said Alisson. "We have to do better. Sometimes it's just a matter of mentality. It's not that easy to change it but we can do that for sure. We have to do more. But we know that."
And, after the dismal 3-0 reverse at Wolverhampton Wanderers in February, he said: "Football is a mental game as well. You go out on to the pitch, you prepare your game, you prepare your way to play, and then the first thing you do is mistakes and concede? It doesn't help at all. When things like that happen all the time it's so frustrating, but we have to fight against that frustration to bounce back."
The message appeared to have got through following that Molineux mauling, with Liverpool embarking on a run of 13 points from 15 games in the Premier League with five clean sheets, culminating with the record-breaking 7-0 romp in the reverse fixture against United.
But if the heavy home loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League could, in some ways, be regarded as a freak aberration, the shocking loss at rock-bottom Bournemouth in midweek and the similarly timid surrender in the Bernabeu could not. It begs the question of whether the recent mini-revival was the outlier rather than the poor results. Liverpool have won only five of 15 games since the start of the year.
Certainly, there has been a recurring theme since the New Year in particular where more than just the performance of the squad has been questioned. On more than one occasion, Klopp has bemoaned poor body language of some of his charges, a remarkable fact given many of his personnel were the "mentality monsters" who dominated opponents for several years. Bodies may be tired after relentless football over past three years, but minds are too.
While hardly breaking ranks, it was intriguing Alisson has again freely spoken on what has become a clear shortcoming. It suggests not only that the players aware of the matter, but that there is a sense of frustration it hasn't been universally addressed. That can be solved in two ways - the hard work of the coaching staff, or simply moving on players and bringing in new ones.
That, too, is an issue the players, particularly the senior ones, acknowledge, with Virgil van Dijk indicating the onus is on Fenway Sports Group and the recruitment team to back Klopp in the desired manner in the summer transfer window.
"Obviously players are going to leave, we have to recruit," he said. "But everyone knows that’s going to be very difficult, it is going to be very difficult to find the right players but the club has to do their job in this case."
Failing to qualify for the Champions League will make that job that little bit tougher. Change is needed at Liverpool - in terms of the mindset, the squad and the overall approach. And those at the coalface know it more than most.
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