Henderson: We lacked a spark of creativity
Jordan Henderson spoke of his sheer determination to improve Liverpool's fortunes and reignite the Reds' season after conceding that his side lacked a cutting edge during their sobering 1-0 defeat by Newcastle United.
The former Sunderland man endured a frustrating afternoon at St James' Park on Saturday as Liverpool failed to recover from Ayoze Perez's 73rd-minute strike at the Gallowgate and Alan Pardew's men emerged with the three points.
Henderson cut a deflated figure in the tunnel post-match, singling out a lack of creativity as the reason behind the sub-standard result, but the vice-captain also vowed that necessary improvements will be made over the coming weeks.
"It was very disappointing," he told Liverpoolfc.com. "We came here for confidence and to get a result and we didn't manage to do that, so we're very disappointed.
"Throughout the game I thought we dominated the ball but we didn't really get in behind them or create many chances. We had one or two through Philippe Coutinho and Martin Skrtel from the corner. But overall, we're disappointed not to get something out of the game.
"I felt as though we started the game well and we quietened the crowd down, kept the ball. But the ball wasn't the problem - we were dominating the game through possession, but it was just getting into that final third and creating an opening. We struggled with that, so we'll have to improve on that and kick on for the next game."
For the Reds, Saturday's game brought a second consecutive 90 minutes in the league without scoring - and for that, Henderson believes there is a collective responsibility that runs throughout the entire side.
"It's down to the whole team," he said. "Especially the midfielders and the attackers, to make runs in behind and create lots of options and movement and combination play as well. I just thought we didn't do as well as we know we can, so we'll have to improve."
Next up for Brendan Rodgers' team is a trip to the home of the reigning European champions, Real Madrid, in the Champions League - a task made all the more formidable by the quality Carlo Ancelotti's outfit displayed during their 3-0 win at Anfield last week.
After that, the Reds return to Barclays Premier League action with a clash against the current leaders, Chelsea, and Henderson is determined that he and his teammates can rise to the challenge posed by two of the continent's in-form sides.
He added: "It's two big games, two games to show that we can score goals and defend better. We'll look forward to that still. We'll work hard during the week and put in two good performances, hopefully, against two top teams."