Liverpool coach Gerard Houllier has blamed the fine line between winning and losing for the club's worst run in half a century.
The club's winless run of 11 league outings is the third-worst run in the club's 111-year history and three more matches without a win bonus would match the worst ever.
But Houllier insisted ahead of Sunday's match at Southampton that bad luck and missed chances lay at the root of the side's woes.
"There is a fine line between winning and losing," he explained. "Imagine that we had taken just six more points during this run - even though we were capable of taking more- then we would be second. If we had got 15 points then we would be first".
With 23 games gone in their Premiership campaign Liverpool, who topped the table before their disastrous run, are just seventh in the table and 14 points behind leaders Arsenal.
They also exited the Champions League in the opening phase.
Southampton are a point ahead of the Merseysiders in fifth and have dreams of making their own tilt at the Champions League next season.
After their trip to Southampton, Liverpool take on Arsenal before travelling to strugglers West Ham.
Houllier, who will be without the suspended Salif Diao at St Mary's, said Liverpool could easily have picked up several more points, which would have got the critics off the club's back.
"There is no escaping the fact that we lost five points against Sunderland.