Caoimhin Kelleher admits Liverpool were left suffering a crisis of confidence after their poor run of form - but believes that can be transformed by their hard-earned FA Cup triumph.
The Reds avoided going four games without a win for the first time in more than four years when they scrapped to a 1-0 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers in their third round replay on Tuesday night.
Kelleher was one of eight changes made to the starting line-up by Jurgen Klopp as he sought a response from Saturday's dismal 3-0 Premier League loss at Brighton and Hove Albion.
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And after helping Liverpool secure a swift return to the Seagulls in the fourth round on Sunday week - and a first clean sheet since November - the goalkeeper explained how the poor start to 2023 had affected the squad.
"We are all human so it's natural everybody is a little bit low on confidence right now, especially given the result we had at the weekend," said Kelleher. "But I think getting a clean sheet and a win will fill us full of confidence and hopefully we can use this result to push on.
“It was a hard-fought away win. Coming here is not easy. Sometimes you just need to grind out results and that’s what we did. We showed some great character.
“The last few days have been about getting back to basics, doing the easy things right, making sure we’re compact and hard to break down. I think we showed we’re capable of doing that.
“We look forward to the next game at the weekend (against Chelsea in the Premier League) and hopefully build from there.”
Harvey Elliott's fourth goal of the season decided the tie, the 19-year-old receiving possession inside his own half and then sprinting forward before unleashing a dipping left-footed shot from 25 yards that deceived Wolves keeper Jose Sa.
And speaking to LFC TV, Kelleher added: “It was an unreal strike. Harvey was brilliant for the whole game and that goal just summed up his performance. The clean sheet was important for us, and the goal was a stunner.
“The most important thing was the result and I think we bounced back really well from the weekend. That was the main idea, to bounce back and put in a good performance. I feel we did that.
“The team shape was really good, really strong. We didn’t have many shots or chances conceded. The whole team did very well.”
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