He was already under the cosh after the relative disappointment of last season, but Brendan Rodgers has endured more bad news with the announcement of the fixture list for the 2015/16 Premier League.
Liverpool face a tough start, with all of their first seven away games being incredibly difficult encounters against clubs who finished in the top half of last season's table, and two of their first six home games also against tricky opposition.
Related: Your Guide To 2015 Football Season's Derby Matches
Now, of course, everyone has to play everyone else twice, so it evens out in the end - but Rodgers would have undoubtedly been hoping for an easier beginning to the season, in order to nestle at the right end of the table, increase the players' and fans' confidence and take focus away from his job - widely thought to be under threat following their sixth place finish last year and their early exit from the Champions League.
They did, however, reach the semi-finals of both the FA and League Cups, but with the likes of Jurgen Klopp waiting in the wings, Rodgers must have been nervous when he went in for his end-of-season meeting with the owners, especially when their last two games - the send-off for legendary captain Steven Gerrard - ended in humiliating defeats at home to Crystal Palace, and a 6-1 thrashing away at Stoke.
Let's take a look at Liverpool's opening:
Sat 8 Aug - Stoke (a) - last season (9th), lost 6-1
Sat 15 Aug - Bournemouth (h) - n/a
Sat 22 Aug - Arsenal (a) - last season (3rd), lost 4-1
Sat 29 Aug - West Ham (h) - last season (12th), won 2-0
Sat 12 Sep - Man Utd (a) - last season (4th), lost 3-0
Sat 19 Sep - Norwich (h) - n/a
Sat 26 Sep - Aston Villa (h) - last season (17th), lost 1-0
Sat 3 Oct - Everton (a) - last season (11th), drew 0-0
Sat 17 Oct - Tottenham (a) - last season (5th), won 3-0
Sat 24 Oct - Southampton (h) - last season (7th), won 2-1
Sat 31 Oct - Chelsea (a) - last season (1st), drew 1-1
Sat 7 Nov - Crystal Palace (h) - last season (10th), lost 3-1
Sat 21 Nov - Man City (a) - last season (2nd), lost 3-1
As you can see, Liverpool picked up just 11 points and -10 goal difference from the 11 equivalent fixtures they played against these teams last year (they obviously didn't play Bournemouth or Norwich). Last year this would have put them in 15th place after 11 games. Even if we assume they'll win both of those extra games, they'd still only be in 10th.
In either of those scenarios, it would be hard to see Rodgers surviving before Christmas.
Do you think they'll do better than expected? Let us know below.
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