Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Pepe Reina admits the players have been hurt by the club’s poor performances this season.
But the Spain international said a sense of pride had forced the squad to face up to their problems and he believed their recent good run showed what could be done when they worked hard together.
The Reds, who suffered early exits from the Champions League and FA Cup, are currently 13 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea.
However, a six-match unbeaten run in which they have conceded just one goal has lifted Liverpool to within a point of fourth-placed Tottenham and rekindled hopes of Champions League qualification next season.
It has also eased some of the pressure on the under-achieving players and manager Rafael Benitez.
“It is about pride. We knew we were not in the right situation,” said Reina, who is currently in negotiations over a new long-term contract at Anfield.
“This club is bigger than that and we had to think about the fact we were not doing as well as we could. Hopefully we will start getting better.
“At least we are gaining confidence from this run and that is why the result is all-important. That has to be the message.
“There will be more tough moments but our pride is at stake and, if we stick together, we can come through it.”
Pride was a word which cropped up at the end of last week when Benitez used it to describe his feelings when Juventus made him their number one summer target.
The Spaniard issued a strong rebuttal on Sunday night of claims he had already agreed terms with the Serie A club and pledged his long-term future to Liverpool.
Although some of his signings have been questionable, Benitez has been pivotal to bringing in some of Liverpool’s key players.
It is unlikely Reina or Fernando Torres would have been convinced a move to Merseyside was the right thing for them had he not been in charge.
To that end those players feel a certain loyalty to the Reds boss and Reina said his belief in the manager – or his Liverpool future – had not wavered.
“He brought me here – that says it all,” said the 27-year-old.
“You only have to look around the stadium to see what the people think about him.
“There is no point talking about his future. We just play football because, in tough moments, we have to stick together.”
The cornerstone to Liverpool’s mini-revival has been a return to the type of frugal defending which allowed them to run Manchester United a close second in the league last season.
Significantly it has been the unheralded summer bargain buy Sotirios Kyrgiakos who has stood out in recent matches.
At the time the signing of the £1.5m Greek international, bought as back up for the well-established Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger, was seen as symptomatic of the financial problems Benitez has to work under at Anfield.
He has, however, developed into the type of no-nonsense nuts-and-bolts centre-half Liverpool need to help grind out results.
As full-back Glen Johnson is sidelined with a hamstring problem Carragher has had to be switched to the right and with Agger only just recovering from a calf injury Kyrgiakos has filled the void in the centre.
Benitez, who used to be criticised for changing his line-up too often, has selected the same back four the last three matches.
Reina believes it is no coincidence the team has started to defend better.
“Proper teams build from the back and from good defending,” said the Spaniard, who played in his 100th consecutive Premier League match in the 2-0 win over Bolton on Saturday.
“It is important to keep a settled back line and the understanding between those four players will be better if you don’t touch anything.
“Defensively we are better now but it is not just that, it is the mentality in tough moments.
“People have to be more together and that is what we are trying to do.
“Let’s build from that and try to win as many points as possible.”
But the Spain international said a sense of pride had forced the squad to face up to their problems and he believed their recent good run showed what could be done when they worked hard together.
The Reds, who suffered early exits from the Champions League and FA Cup, are currently 13 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea.
However, a six-match unbeaten run in which they have conceded just one goal has lifted Liverpool to within a point of fourth-placed Tottenham and rekindled hopes of Champions League qualification next season.
It has also eased some of the pressure on the under-achieving players and manager Rafael Benitez.
“It is about pride. We knew we were not in the right situation,” said Reina, who is currently in negotiations over a new long-term contract at Anfield.
“This club is bigger than that and we had to think about the fact we were not doing as well as we could. Hopefully we will start getting better.
“At least we are gaining confidence from this run and that is why the result is all-important. That has to be the message.
“There will be more tough moments but our pride is at stake and, if we stick together, we can come through it.”
Pride was a word which cropped up at the end of last week when Benitez used it to describe his feelings when Juventus made him their number one summer target.
The Spaniard issued a strong rebuttal on Sunday night of claims he had already agreed terms with the Serie A club and pledged his long-term future to Liverpool.
Although some of his signings have been questionable, Benitez has been pivotal to bringing in some of Liverpool’s key players.
It is unlikely Reina or Fernando Torres would have been convinced a move to Merseyside was the right thing for them had he not been in charge.
To that end those players feel a certain loyalty to the Reds boss and Reina said his belief in the manager – or his Liverpool future – had not wavered.
“He brought me here – that says it all,” said the 27-year-old.
“You only have to look around the stadium to see what the people think about him.
“There is no point talking about his future. We just play football because, in tough moments, we have to stick together.”
The cornerstone to Liverpool’s mini-revival has been a return to the type of frugal defending which allowed them to run Manchester United a close second in the league last season.
Significantly it has been the unheralded summer bargain buy Sotirios Kyrgiakos who has stood out in recent matches.
At the time the signing of the £1.5m Greek international, bought as back up for the well-established Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger, was seen as symptomatic of the financial problems Benitez has to work under at Anfield.
He has, however, developed into the type of no-nonsense nuts-and-bolts centre-half Liverpool need to help grind out results.
As full-back Glen Johnson is sidelined with a hamstring problem Carragher has had to be switched to the right and with Agger only just recovering from a calf injury Kyrgiakos has filled the void in the centre.
Benitez, who used to be criticised for changing his line-up too often, has selected the same back four the last three matches.
Reina believes it is no coincidence the team has started to defend better.
“Proper teams build from the back and from good defending,” said the Spaniard, who played in his 100th consecutive Premier League match in the 2-0 win over Bolton on Saturday.
“It is important to keep a settled back line and the understanding between those four players will be better if you don’t touch anything.
“Defensively we are better now but it is not just that, it is the mentality in tough moments.
“People have to be more together and that is what we are trying to do.
“Let’s build from that and try to win as many points as possible.”
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