Brendan Rodgers: I felt we disappointed right from the off

Despite seeing just over a third of first-half possession, the visitors went into the break with a comfortable lead.

“It’s mad how it has worked out”, he laughed.

“We were disappointing today”, was the Northern Irishman’s honest assesment of what he saw at Anfield yesterday.

“I’ve won the ball first“. He’s had few good days in red since joining Liverpool last summer, but his performance in the club’s 3-0 loss to West Ham was his most highly criticized to date. “That seemed to set us back a bit”, Rodgers admitted after the game.

“We are not suffering because we have six points but we are going to have to change the way we play at home“.

However, he does expect an improvement when they head to Old Trafford and in all their future home games.

‘We need to keep our heads up’

.

So what about this new role for Tomkins?

The Reds had lost 3-0 and Rodgers was disappointed to lose, especially as he feels West Ham would have been pleased with a point.

In quotes on ESPN FC, he said: “The game is finished and I have forgotten about it already”.

In top-flight history, the Hammers’ 42 game winless away streak at Liverpool is only lower than Stoke’s 52 game winless run at Liverpool (which is also current).

“That is what inspired us for this match, winning so well at The Emirates”, he said. “You don’t know how much confidence that gives you“. It was celebrated long and loud by the visiting fans and rightly so – the last time they did so a 17-year-old called George Best had made his Manchester United debut.

Coutinho was shown yellow cards either side of the break, while Noble was also sent off for a late lunge on Danny Ings.

Not just on this one game but on the opening block of four as a whole.

The home side named an unchanged 11 from Monday night’s goalless draw at Arsenal, but James Tomkins and Manuel Lanzini started for the Hammers in place of Carl Jenkinson and Kevin Nolan.

The 26-year-old looked desperate to impress, and contributed to a dismal defensive display from Brendan Rodgers’ back line. Sakho has waited patiently for his chance and deserves the opportunity.

“If I have got the squad I have got now, I’ll be happy to work with that”, said Rodgers.

The manager’s optimism proved wildly misplaced as West Ham ended a 52-year wait for a victory at Anfield, a sequence that stretched back to the September day in 1963 when Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters were on the mark in a 2-1 win.