'There's progress at all levels'
Kenny Dalglish insists progress has been made at all levels of the club over the last year.
The Reds won their first trophy since 2006 in February, and have a great chance of securing another if they beat Everton in next month's FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
And while league results haven't gone as planned of late, Dalglish is adamant that the club is moving forward in a number of ways.
He said: "It depends how people view success. I view success as the club moving forward, and that's what we're doing. We've moved forward in lots of ways.
"Maybe at times it isn't always apparent, but on the pitch the club is moving forward, in and around Melwood it's moved forward, off the pitch it's moved forward, the Academy has moved forward.
"We just need to get our league results in better order and it'll be a happier story.
"We want to compete equally in every competition we're in. We've done tremendously well in the cups and we've got to recreate it in the league.
"It's not been that way this season. There have been a lot of fantastic performances but we've not got the results.
"The players are as disappointed as anyone else when we lose a game but we'll keep doing what we do day in, day out in training. At some stage I'm sure it's going to come right.
"We'll keep going the way we believe in.
"We certainly have made progress over the year, in lots of areas - not just the first team."
Asked by reporters whether he agreed with Gerard Houllier's pronouncement this week that winning the league was an 'obsession' for a club like Liverpool, Dalglish replied: "I don't know how you define the word 'obsession'.
"It would be fantastic for Liverpool Football Club to win the league. We've won plenty in the past. It's been a while since the last one, and it's an ambition for everyone who supports Liverpool to see them win the league title.
"But, at the end of the day, there are a lot of other games to play other than league matches, and we want to compete in every game we play in.
"I'm not obsessed with anything other than the next game."
Dalglish and his squad have enjoyed a clear week following a hectic period of fixtures, and the boss thinks it has been beneficial ahead of Sunday's visit to St James' Park.
"The strength of a squad is the way it handles suspensions and injuries and loss of form," he said. "We've got a very strong squad that has been stretched, but there are a lot of other people in a similar position, whose squads have also been stretched.
"We were stretched at the weekend. A lot of them had three games in six days but the clear week we have gives everyone a chance to get rid of any bumps and bruises they have.
"And it gives the other boys a chance to get fit. The week has been productive for us in that sense."