Liverpool 'desperate' to get off the bottom

A woeful start to their Barclays Premier League campaign has left them mired in 19th place and they could face the ignominy of starting tomorrow’s home game against Blackburn bottom of the table.

Having dismissed rumours speculating he was considering resigning because of their poor form, Hodgson remains confident that with new ownership – New England Sports Ventures completed their 300m takeover a week ago – the corner can now be turned.

“We showed we are far from dead as a club by going to Naples and doing well as we have in other Europa League games,” he said after a weakened team returned home with a valuable point thanks to a 0-0 draw in a hostile atmosphere at the Stadio San Paolo.

“We are going through a very bad passage at the moment and things have not gone our way for a variety of reasons.

“We are down at the bottom and desperately want to get away from there.

“But the new owners have done a lot for the club, they’ve given the club a lift and they did that before the Everton game (which Liverpool lost last Sunday).

“There was a certain buoyancy and a feelgood feeling and we can start to rebuild, put things right and get ourselves on a good footing once again.”