Brendan Rodgers clutched to his Liverpool side's record of seven points from 12 as comfort after their diabolical performance against West Ham United on Saturday, which brought to an end an eventful opening month of the 2015-16 Premier League campaign.
The Reds, who took two successive single-goal wins before a goalless draw at Arsenal, suffered quite the setback in their fixture against the Hammers - which saw them end the month on a rather pessimistic note.
But Rodgers desperately clung to his side's seven point haul, which he believes remains a respectable tally, though they arguably could have come away with more - had they improved their finishing against Arsenal and not succumbed to such incompetent defensive errors against the Hammers.
Of course, Liverpool are still on the same points as top-four rivals Manchester United and Arsenal, whilst they sit four points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and three ahead of champions Chelsea after four games, but there is still some despondency.
Their defeat to West Ham has changed the picture quite considerably after such a positive start, meaning quite a few question marks hang over Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers going into the two-week international break - but how did it get to such a point?
August 9: Stoke City - Late jubilation for travelling Kop as Reds avenge their last trip to Potteries
The 2015-16 campaign started solidly, if unspectacularly, away at Stoke City - as the Reds were forced to rely on a late moment of brilliance from Philippe Coutinho, otherwise known as the 'Little Magician' by his team-mates.
No wonder he's earned that nickname, because this was not the first time he has produced the goods to give the Reds the three points, and certainly not the first time he's hit such an exquisite long-range effort.
Spinning away from Steve Sidwell and making space for himself, Coutinho drove forward and fired a swerving dipping strike from 30-yards which Jack Butland couldn't prevent from powering past him and into the top corner.
Deservedly or not, the 86th-minute effort from the Brazilian sent the away end into an absolute frenzy and got the Reds' season underway in some style.
In hindsight, there were plenty of positives to take from the performance, even if the fixture was a little less dramatic and exciting than had first been hoped.
The Reds did, however, go some way to avenging - and forgetting - their 6-1 loss to the Potters in the final game of the previous season and they did it by staying refreshingly solid defensively.
Dejan Lovren, having been given a vote of confidence by Rodgers to partner Martin Skrtel in the centre of defence, turned in a solid display - whilst the rest of their debutants, Joe Gomez, James Milner, Nathaniel Clyne and Christian Benteke also produced promising performances, as Roberto Firmino contributed a bright cameo from the bench.
Sure, there were a few holes to pick from the performance, but for the first game of the Northern Irishman's new-look side - to go to a stadium where they were obliterated on their last visit and come away with three points and a clean sheet to boot, was the ideal start.
August 17: Bournemouth - Benteke impresses on home debut as Liverpool make it two from two
Eight days' later, Liverpool's first home game of the season saw them play host to newly-promoted Bournemouth in a game that, on paper, looked easy - but on the pitch it was quite another.
The Cherries were the stronger side in the opening 25 minutes and looked keen to mark their first ever Premier League away game with a bang, but they were dealt two huge slices of misfortune which changed the outlook of the game entirely.
Tommy Elphick's fifth-minute header from a corner-kick was ruled out for a foul on Skrtel, but there was certainly a case for the goal standing - whilst just 21 minutes later they were on the end of another equally as questionable decision.
Benteke met captain Jordan Henderson's deep cross to net his first goal, but not without a hint of fortune, with replays clearing showing that as the Belgian approached the ball, Coutinho - from an offside position - attempted to make contact and therefore distracted goalkeeper Artur Boruc and allowing the striker to finish from close-range.
From then on in, the Reds were the better side until half-time, but all of a sudden Eddie Howe's visitors regained their impetus at the start of the second period and for another 20 minute period, Bournemouth were the better side.
Liverpool did ease back into the game, and they arguably should have doubled their lead to prevent the tense finale as Benteke struck the crossbar, but the point was they held in.
It may have been another unconvincing victory but the manner of the performance was of lesser importance than the fact that another three points were on the board.
That said, there were still some positives to take from the performance. Benteke was the obvious highlight, dominating against his markers and linking up well with Coutinho, whilst Clyne put in another sublime display at right-back.
Yet again, the defence held up well - as those whom Rodgers put his faith in continued to repay him. Lovren and Gomez, in particular, backed up their first game of the season with sturdy showings.
The belief was growing.
August 24: Arsenal - Reds fail to make chances count in pulsating goalless draw at the Emirates
Fresh from back-to-back wins, the trip to Arsenal represented a daunting prospect. The attitude approaching the game was that a point would be an excellent result, given Liverpool's recent record in North London.
Especially considering the 4-1 loss at the Emirates Stadium on their last visit, Liverpool were the underdogs - but they started exactly the opposite.
With the Gunners having started sloppily, the Reds came within a few inches of opening the scoring after just four minutes as Coutinho's effort from inside the box cannoned back off the crossbar.
The Brazilian ran the show in the first-half, as Liverpool's high-press forced Arsenal into countless errors high up the pitch. It was this that granted them their second major opportunity, as Firmino rolled a delightful cross into the path of Benteke - who should have beaten Petr Cech from point-blank range.
The Reds continued their barrage, but Cech thwarted them again - as Coutinho bedazzled Hector Bellerin with delightful footwork inside the box before curling a shot towards the bottom corner, but Cech managed to tip the midfielder's shot off of the post.
The half-time whistle came at the wrong time, halting the visitors' momentum at the perfect time and giving Arsene Wenger's side the opportunity to settle mentally.
As a result, they came out after the break rejuvenated and refreshed, and began to throw everything at the away side - but they couldn't find a breakthrough, Olivier Giroud wasting an opening from just a few yards out and Alexis Sanchez hitting the outside of the post was the closest they came as the Reds defended well and denied them to very few clear-cut chances.
The lack of opportunities the hosts were afforded meant Simon Mignolet kept another comfortable clean sheet as the Emirates saw one of the most enthralling goalless draws in recent memory.
Finally, there was some genuine conviction from Liverpool. Having been so emphatically disassembled away at Arsenal in April, the Reds returned in August and matched them blow-for-blow.
So much so, that there was actually some disappointment that the Reds only came away with the single point to show their efforts - with every player on the pitch having impressed and even young Academy prospect Jordan Rossiter getting some minutes off the bench. Three games. Three clean sheets. Seven points from nine. Optimism all around.
August 29: West Ham - Forgettable end to opening month as Reds fall to first defeat
Confidence aplenty, perhaps the attitude towards Slaven Bilić's West Ham was a little complacent. The Reds had taken seven points from nine whilst the Croatian's team suffered consecutive home defeats after a terrific win at Arsenal on the opening day.
Whilst they clearly possessed their threats, with their first-choice goalkeeper suspended and a number of their strikers out through injury, Liverpool were expected to end the month with a third win from four.
Fast forward a few days on and the post-mortem is still ongoing. Their biggest defeat for a decade and their first to the Londoners sincr 1965. Worst of all, this was no fluke. This was Bilić tactically outclassing Rodgers.
First-half goals from Manuel Lanzini and Mark Noble plus a late third from Diafra Sakho sealed it for the Hammers, whilst a red card for Coutinho, a disappointing return of defensive errors and a lack of threat and penetration going forward compounded the Reds' anguish.
The belief and faith in Rodgers, with it, at an all time low. Perhaps even lower than after his side's shocking run of form towards the end of last season.
Perhaps the fact Liverpool remain on the same points as Arsenal and Manchester United, with three more than Chelsea, provides slight solace - but suggesting that their opponents' results therefore make Liverpool's more acceptable is a mediocre excuse.
Rather than consolidating themselves with the fact they are relatively on par with the rest of the teams who are widely expected to make top-four, the Reds should boast a comfortable points advantage over them already.
With much tougher fixtures to come, as tricky away ties are mixed with Europa League and Capital One Cup games, Liverpool must begin to kick into gear or else they risk requiring another mid-season revival to even come close.