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Arne Slot said that Liverpool's loss to Manchester City prior to the international break did not undo the progress the Reds made during wins over Aston Villa and Real Madrid.
Liverpool's 3-0 loss to City was the team's seventh loss in its last 10 games in all competitions, and the manner of the defeat prompted questions over how the gap between the two sides was so big. Slot, though, said that the the wins over Villa and Madrid should not be forgotten about.
"The week before the international break did not end in the way we would have wanted it to but this does not erase what happened in the two previous fixtures," Slot said in his program notes ahead of Liverpool's loss to Nottingham Forest.
"Yes, it was a bad end to that week but at the same time it should not be lost sight of that it was a bad end to a good week.
"Our victories and performances against Aston Villa and Real Madrid – two teams who came to Anfield in very good form – allowed us to make two steps forward following a very difficult period in which results definitely were not good enough.
"So it was two steps forward followed by one step back and this means we have made progress at the same time as knowing there is a lot of work that needs to be done and more steps that need to be taken."
Slot conceded that extra pressure and scrutiny come as part of the territory at a club like Liverpool.
But he suggested that the team's record over the last 10 games reflects harshly on how the team has been playing.
The Dutchman added: "There has been a lot of talk about where we are at as a team – something else that is part and parcel of being at a club like Liverpool – but we know this better than anyone.
"Just as we were not perfect last season when we became champions, and just as we knew we needed a lot of late goals to win our early games this season, we recognize that in a lot of our recent fixtures our biggest issue has been being on the wrong side of the small margins.
"This was even true of our defeat against Manchester City, even though we certainly would not challenge the belief that our opponents were deserved winners that day and we also recognise that our performance level was not what it should have been.
"There are small margins that we cannot always control – as Virgil [van Dijk]'s disallowed goal in that game demonstrated – but there are ones that we can and must do better in.
"If we do this, then it will become easier to sustain the kind of form that allowed us to get positive results against Villa and Real."
Liverpool goes into Saturday's game eighth in the table, with Forest in 19th.
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