Brendan Rodgers insists 2014 has been a year of progress for Liverpool, despite the rapid decline over the past six months.
The Reds will look back at the first half of the calnder year and reflect on a run of 11 consecutive victories that almost secured the Premier League title.
But the home defeat to Chelsea and the 3-3 draw at Crystal Palace in two of the final three matches of last season saw Rodgers side lose out on the title to Manchester City, and this season has been a struggle almost since the off, with Liverpool occupying eighth place heading into the new year.
But the Liverpool boss is keen to stress that 2014 should be looked back on as a year in which the team has progressed.
As a year it’s been another year of progress – the end of the year hasn’t been as good as we want but over the course of 2014 we have made significant strides forward in terms of what we are trying to do at the club,” he explained.
“We are only behind Manchester City and Chelsea in terms of points over the whole year. They are on 88 points over the calendar year, and we are third in behind them (76 points). We are pleased with that, but we still have a lot work to do.
“We are building confidence and looking forward to the second half of the season.”