Brendan Rodgers admits Liverpool have found it difficult to adapt to life without Luis Suarez, and their current injury situation, reports the Daily Star.
The Reds have crashed to three Premier League defeats in five games, and struggled to a fortunate 2-1 home win over Ludogorets in the Champions League.
And whilst the Liverpool boss is confident things will improve, he admits his side have struggled to fill the void left by players who were so crucial last season.
Rodgers said: “We need to get back to doing what we do best. With the injured players we have, I need to retain a system for a longer period.
“The 4-4-2 diamond worked really well but it worked well with certain players and not at the weekend.
“Until I get all the players back that I know are available and are multifunctional players, I’ll look at the strength of the players we do have fit.
“We need to get back to our way of working and we know that will bring us success.”
Liverpool take on Middlesborough in the Capital One Cup tonight, and Rodgers has a selection headache over captain Steven Gerrard.
The 34-year-old has played three games in the past 10 days, whilst Jordan Henderson is carrying a knock from the weekend.
That could see the boss give younger players an opportunity to show what they can do at Anfield tonight, with 17-year-old Jordan Rossiter tipped to start.
The Northern Irishman added: “We want Steven to be involved in the big games because of his experience and we will always taper that recovery to allow him to be the best he can be.
“This will be a difficult game but we will have enough experience on the field and quality to hopefully get the result.
“I get excited by young players getting involved but I need to map it out.
“We have a big game at the weekend, then a Champions League game which is important and another important league game after that before the international break.
“We have four big games coming up but the most important is the next one.”
