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Liverpool's head coach stated he had to “examine my own performance” after the Reds suffered a 6th defeat in 7 Premier League games at home to Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would discover a way out of the title holders' slump.

Nottingham Forest, fighting against the drop prior to the match, delivered the biggest win at Anfield in their history as the Merseyside club fell to an eighth defeat in 11 fixtures in every tournament. The British record signing, the Swedish striker, was once more anonymous and the home side argued the defender's opener should have been ruled out for comparable grounds to the captain's disallowed effort versus Manchester City before the international break. But the manager admitted the buck rested with him and made no excuses.

“Nobody wishes to hear me now talking about officiating calls if you lose 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest,” stated the Liverpool head coach. “I ought to look at myself first and my team, but it does show you how a goal can alter the flow of a game. Earlier I was just waiting for us to net a strike. Later we hardly generated any chances.

“Naturally there is a way out, particularly with the quality footballers we have. No matter if you win or lose when you reflect you are always thinking: ‘In which areas can we do better, where can we make changes?’ but that is something else from questioning yourself.

“I wish to emphasise I am responsible for the present defeats. You are answerable when you are victorious but also responsible when you are defeated. I can never provide sufficient reasons for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not acceptable and I am to blame for that.”

The team's performance unravelled as the coach made several offensive changes when chasing the match. “It was the same on the road at Nottingham Forest last season,” he remarked. “I took Ibou [Ibrahima Konaté] off and put on the Portuguese forward and he scored immediately to equalize at 1-1. At that time it was brave, now it’s likely unwise.”

The Anfield side last lost back-to-back at Anfield league fixtures by Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they suffered consecutive league matches by a 3-0 margin was in 1965.

The manager commented: “It was very bad. Playing on home soil, conceding 3-0 regardless of which opponent you face is a terrible outcome. Surprising if you consider the first half-hour of the game. I did not witness us creating so many chances in the opening 30 minutes perhaps the entire campaign, and the initial occasion they entered in our box they found the back of the net.

“It wasn’t against Manchester City, but in every other fixture we have been the dominant team and were capable to generate chances. Lately it is almost consistently that we fail to convert our chances and the ones we allow go in.”