Centre-back Joel Matip has pledged that Liverpool will work harder to try and re-establish the form they showed at the beginning of the season after their season hit a new low following a shambolic 2-0 defeat against Hull City.

The Reds' hopes of a top-four finish sustained a heavy blow on Saturday as the Tigers under new boss Marco Silva, handed them a fourth Premier League loss of the campaign.

Poor goalkeeping from Simon Mignolet, coupled with diabolic marking, allowed Alfred N'Diaye's to prod into an empty net in the first-half before Everton flop Oumar Niasse secured all three points for the hosts with a goal on the counter-attack as Liverpool pushed for an equaliser.

Asked how he felt following the result, Matip admitted the result was "of course it's disappointing" and said that Liverpool hadn't done enough to win at the KCOM Stadium.

Liverpool have four days before they welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Anfield and Jürgen Klopp will be looking to correct his side's shortcomings on the training ground before they lose any more ground in the hunt for Champions League football.

The Cameroonian defender vowed that he and his teammates "will try to get back to that level" against Spurs and said that they will "try to do better and get some points."

Sluggish Liverpool need to start earlier, says defender

With Premier League defeats coming against Burnley, Bournemouth, Swansea and Hull, Liverpool's weaknesses against the smaller sides is well documented.

Despite posing a good record against the top six, their inability to see off the 'weaker' sides has cost them dear this season, with their early season form providing fans with optimism that they could challenge at the very top of the table.

However, their struggles since the turn of the year have seen Manchester United close a 12-point gap to just one point, illustrating how Liverpool can ill-afford any more costly slip-ups for the remainder of the season.

Matip added: "We have to work harder. The first-half [against Hull], was not good. The second half was a little bit better, but not good enough. We have to start earlier. We've all said it, not only the manager."

Liverpool will need to reproduce the energy and fluency that was such a strong feature of their play in the first-half of the season if they're going to see a change of fortunes in the coming weeks.

Coming out of the blocks straight from the off certainly wouldn't hurt on Saturday, and as Matip rightly said, improvement is needed in all areas of the pitch for the Reds.

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About the author
Leanne Prescott
Football writer covering various Premier League teams.