Glen: We'll put Villa loss behind us
Glen Johnson has urged his Liverpool teammates to put the disappointment of a 3-1 loss at home to Aston Villa firmly behind them and focus on a return to form against Fulham on Saturday.
The Reds were undone at Anfield by goals from Christian Benteke and Andreas Weimann as their run of three successive victories in all competitions came to a halt.
But Johnson insists the squad must not dwell on the weekend's defeat if they are to produce an immediate response against the Cottagers in what will be the first of four games in 11 days for the Reds.
"Any game you lose is disappointing," he told the Liverpool Echo. "I just think we were lacking a bit of tempo. It was difficult and it was just one of those games.
"It was a great opportunity to pick up three more points and we missed out. We have to put this behind us. It's gone now and there's nothing we can do about it.
"We have a lot of games coming up and we have to look to put things right next weekend."
The Reds dominated the opening proceedings against Villa and looked the more likely to open the scoring until Benteke struck just before the half-hour mark.
The away side then doubled their advantage through Weimann before Benteke's second rendered Steven Gerrard's late header a consolation.
"Early on we had so much of the ball and dominated the game," Johnson said. "They went in front completely against the run of play.
"When we were 1-0 down, we still had a big chance as there was plenty of time left in the game. But the second goal before half-time left us with a lot to do.
"You can say we needed to pass the ball that bit quicker, but sometimes it's difficult to play too quick because you have so much room. When you're in loads of room then you are supposed to move into that space.
"When the opposition are so compact around the edge of the box then your little passes have to be perfect. When you have a day like we did when your passing isn't perfect that makes it very difficult to break them down."
The Reds thought they were about to be awarded their first penalty of the season when Villa captain Ciaran Clark appeared to have tugged Daniel Agger's shirt in the penalty area before Johnson's own header was blocked by the arm of Nathan Baker.
"I really don't know what we have to do to get a penalty," said Johnson. "There was that one when Daniel was having his shirt pulled and the other one when I headed it and their guy basically caught it.
"We have had some clear cut ones but for whatever reason we just aren't being given them."