Rodgers: Why I know there's more to come
Brendan Rodgers watches the 'attitude and energy' of his Liverpool squad each day and takes from it a confidence and expectancy that the Reds will continually improve across the course of the season.
A mixed opening to the Barclays Premier League campaign shows three victories, three defeats and a draw from seven fixtures - leaving the Northern Irishman's side a point off a top four position.
They headed into the international break on the back of a morale-boosting performance and result, however, with Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson goals enough to see off West Bromwich Albion.
With his players now back at their Melwood base, and a number returning to training following injury, Rodgers is locked in preparations for a trip south to Queens Park Rangers on Sunday afternoon.
He'll take his team to Loftus Road in calm humour too, convinced that the tenacity within the camp will ensure the Reds continue to rise up the standings during the weeks and months to come.
"I'm quite relaxed," the manager explained to reporters at his pre-match press conference today. "I said the same last year - we'll look at it after 10 games and see where we sit.
"If Phil Jagielka doesn't score a world-class goal [in September's Merseyside derby], then we're two points better off and in the top four. At this point in time, it's just about looking at our performance level and looking to improve that.
"We know we'll get better as the season goes on. There's certainly no crisis. We lost a world-class player in the summer and we brought in a lot of players, and that just takes time to gel.
"Of course, with less training time to coach the players, you are going straight into the games. But the players here are absolutely magnificent; the attitude and energy that they show here, and their thirst to want to be better, is what gives me the hope that we can really push on."
Lallana opened his account for Liverpool in sublime fashion when the Baggies visited Anfield almost a fortnight ago, gliding forward with agility and athleticism before pouncing to curl into the net from close range.
With his deft touch and creativity, the playmaker has quickly won the appreciation of Kopites after making the switch to Merseyside from Southampton in July - and Rodgers warned that, like the team as a whole, the 26-year-old has even more to offer.
The boss noted: "He is a player that is used to playing on these shores. He has shown in the last couple of seasons in the Premier League that he's a top player and a top talent.
"That was one of the key reasons why we brought him in, because we knew that we were going to bring in some players from outside the UK who would maybe take a bit of adaptation time, so we also needed players who we felt could hit the ground running.
"Since he has come back from injury, he is gaining fitness all the time. Against Everton he was outstanding and he played the full 120 minutes against Middlesbrough before that game.
"His fitness is growing all the time; I see him in training and he's showing real signs of getting back to the top of his game. He's going to be an exceptional player for us and he will get better as the season goes on."