Dejan Lovren has pledged that he will come back stronger from his dreadful performance in Liverpool's 3-0 loss to West Ham United, which he said made him want to hide "under the table."

The centre-back had looked to be turning over a new leaf on Merseyside, helping to keep three straight clean sheets in their first three games of the campaign.

But after rave reviews from his manager Brendan Rodgers the night before, the £20 million defender produced an error-strewn performance as his appalling mistake allowed Hammers captain Mark Noble to double the visitors' advantage after half an hour.

The Croatian's substandard display was the subject of such scathing criticism that he deleted his Instagram account later the same night, but he is determined not to let his role in Liverpool's defeat affect him.

He said that he is the first one to be disappointed after such a performance and admitted that for the first minute after the second goal, he "wanted to go under the table."

But Lovren insisted that there was very little he could do to make up for the error and said he had to keep his head up and continue playing the rest of the game.

He insisted that he "tried everything" but that it was a bad decision from himself and that "mistakes happen."

The 26-year-old vowed to put it past him, saying that the game "is finished" and he has "forgotten it already" as he goes into the international break with Croatia, before a trip to Manchester United in two weeks.

Lovren determined not to allow West Ham performance to bring him down

Lovren acknowledged that this season is a monumental one for his long-term future at Anfield, after he struggled to live up to his price tag in a turbulent first year at the Reds.

But the defender won the faith of his manager throughout pre-season, as he featured heavily, leading him to start all four Premier League games so far alongside Martin Skrtel and ahead of Mamadou Sakho. 

Lovren said it is a "big year" for him, adding that he "needed time" throughout an "important" pre-season to gel properly with his new team-mates.

He added that it is not just about him and his Slovakian central defensive partner, saying "it is all about the team" when Liverpool defend well, just as it is when they attack well.

He insisted that it is "not just" about the two central defenders or the goalkeeper, saying that "games like this" and mistakes happen, even though they were "cheap goals" to concede.

Nevertheless, Lovren is not concerned about whether it will "shake" himself or the team, saying that they will "go again straight away" to find their form and try to take the three points from a trip to United next month.

Early goal proved crucial for Hammers according to defender

The defensive performance came rather surprisingly, with Liverpool having taken seven points from nine beforehand, conceding no goals in the process.

Rodgers hailed the extra work and analysis they had done in training with the players as the reason behind their success at the back, but Lovren said Manuel Lanzini's third-minute opening goal set them back.

He said that the players "didn't expect to start the game" in the way in which they did, saying it was a "poor performance" due to the early goal and his mistake.

The Croat said that whilst the early did not kill the Reds, it was a "disappointing" start and the second goal only compiled their misery, making it "tough to go in at half-time."

Rodgers attempted to change things around at the back as he changed formation and introduced a more attacking left-sided defender in Alberto Moreno, but Liverpool were crippled when Philippe Coutinho was given a second yellow card just minutes into the second-half.

Lovren said that they "tried everything" after the break, including adopting a three at the back system, but the red card made it "tough to come back."

Liverpool need to put defeat in the past says Lovren

But despite the morale-sapping defeat, Lovren believes Liverpool remain in strong stead still to do well this season - with their main top-four opponents yet to have found their best form.

As such, Liverpool are level on points with Arsenal and Manchester United, as well having a three point advantage over Chelsea and four more than Tottenham Hotspur. 

He said Liverpool are "definitely" disappointed by the fact they didn't take 10 points from their first four games, but insisted that other clubs "are also losing at home too."

Whilst there is an expectation to win games at home, "especially after the last game" versus Arsenal, Lovren said they knew it would be a difficult game.

He said the visitors put everyone "behind the ball" - especially in the closing minutes after they had also been reduced to 10 as Noble was given a red card, but said that "it is not a good enough reason" to make up for how poor their own performance was.

However, Lovren maintained that Liverpool must keep their heads up and whilst they will "definitely" miss Coutinho - who he views as a "key player" - against United, they need to "work hard and forget" the West Ham result "as soon as possible."