It proved to be a disappointing first trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the Blues. We fell behind shortly after the half-hour mark as James Garner slipped a pass through to Beto, who produced a clipped finish over Robert Sanchez.

We had chances to equalise before the interval, the best of which saw Jordan Pickford produce a stunning save to deny Enzo Fernandez.

The Argentine was denied once again by the England international in the second period, which was a decisive moment as Beto added a second minutes later. Iliman Ndiaye then grabbed a third with a fine finish to condemn the Blues to defeat on Merseyside.

'In terms of the things we’ve spoken about, not gifting goals away, making sure we’re in the game, getting control of the game, it wasn’t there,' Rosenior reflected after the game.

'It turned into a really difficult evening where the result and performance were nowhere near what we expected or wanted.’

The Blues head coach continued: 'We had an edgy start in terms of the cheap giveaways, then we managed to gain control of the game, were in their half, arriving and creating moments which we didn't take – we weren’t clinical enough.

'But then, it feels like out of nowhere, they score. That isn't the first time that’s happened, and what happens if you’re in a difficult run of games is that your energy and confidence levels can drop when the other team scores first. That’s what happened.

'Pickford makes a world-class save at 1-0, then we come out in the second half and have control of the game, but we make a mistake and they’re 2-0 up, which gives them even more energy. It’s about flow and momentum, and we didn’t have that in the game today.’

Rosenior appreciates the Blues are in the midst of a challenging run of form, with today's defeat our fourth in succession in all competitions. Yet he insists his players are continuing to give their all to try to secure victories and points.

'I don’t think there’s a lack of effort, I don’t think there’s a lack of belief and determination in the team,' he explained.

'I am aware that when you’re on a run of defeats and performances that we’ve had, those things get levelled at you but I don’t think that’s the issue in this moment.'