January 2017 has been hailed as the month to forget for Liverpool but perhaps it is in fact a period we must all remember.
It is a painful yet potentially important reminder of a struggle this club endured but one that, in the near future, we can all look back on and be able to praise the players for how they came through it.
Top four is by no means out of the picture, as many expected would be the case given the team’s dramatic slump in form.
Monday night’s trip to face Leicester is the start of a season-defining period in which Jurgen Klopp’s men have to perform consistently if they have any chance of securing a place in next season’s Champions League.
Georginio Wijnaldum has looked back on a tough few weeks for the club and has explained how a winning run is a must if the Reds are to get back on track.
“January was not a good month for us, we were not on a good run, it was quite a bad run for us,” he told Sky Sports.
“You must win a few games in a row to change things, it is just one game, it was the same thing against Man City. The only thing was that before Man City we had been on a good run, we won a few games, and after Man City we did not win a game anymore.
“The game against Chelsea was a good game, unfortunately we did not win it, that was how we wanted to play the game against Chelsea.”
“But the game after against Hull City, it went wrong again, so I do not think one game says a lot.
“It gives you a lot of confidence if you play a good game and win the game, because against Chelsea we played a good game, especially in the first half, but we did not win it. Now we won a game, so it gives us a lot of confidence.”
“But I think the most important thing is for us to win a few games in a row, because that is what you need to keep the confidence.”
One game didn’t completely make amends for what happened in January, but it did alter the mood slightly and give both the players and fans confidence that Liverpool can finish the season strongly.
Taking it a game at a time is how it must be, just as it was at the beginning of the season. Let’s look forward.