Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted that the Reds have suffered through a "rubbish" season and has taken responsibility for his side's predicament.
Twelve months ago, Liverpool had already scooped the EFL Cup and were competing for an unprecedented quadruple in the FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League.
The Merseyside giants ultimately fell short in the latter two competitions, but for the second time in two finals, they got the better of Chelsea on penalties to lift the FA Cup aloft.
However, Liverpool have been a shadow of their former selves during the current term, and they will end the campaign with the Community Shield as their only piece of silverware.
The defence of their EFL Cup and FA Cup crowns both ended in the fourth round, while their last-16 Champions League showdown with Real Madrid saw them exit with a whimper courtesy of a comprehensive 6-2 aggregate defeat.
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Champions League football has been a formality for Liverpool under Klopp, but the Reds are not even guaranteed a European spot whatsoever this season, marooned in eighth place in the Premier League table.
Following Sunday's 2-2 draw with Arsenal, the Reds sit 29 points behind the league leaders and 12 points worse off than fourth-placed Manchester United on the same number of matches.
Prior to holding the Gunners to a pulsating stalemate, Klopp spoke to Sky Sports News and made no bones about his side's disastrous season, which he apologised to the fans for.
"I'm sorry for our people, that they don't have the season they wished for. But in the long term they will forget that," the 55-year-old said.
"I couldn't care less what we did last year or the years before. I'm 100 per cent responsible for this rubbish and it's really not cool.
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"I know everybody can express their emotions in an instant and there will be a lot of negative comments about us - I understand that. But the people in the stadium are incredible.
"You see things happening at other clubs, not only sackings but teams against owners, fans against owners, fans against the team - I've seen it all.
"But if anyone can get through a situation like this in a classy manner, I really think it's us as a club. What you've seen this year is that a lot of teams that performed last year on an extremely high level are not exactly there.
"The intensity, at one point, gets you and maybe it caught us this year. But that is no excuse for the next 10 games. It may be an explanation for why we are not on our top level. We didn't find a way to bring in consistent performances."
Klopp was rewarded with a new Anfield contract until 2026 last year during Liverpool's quadruple hunt, and he has also insisted that he does not fear the sack amid the recent spate of managerial departures.
Next up for the Reds is a trip to relegation-threatened Leeds United - who beat them 2-1 at Anfield earlier in the campaign - on Monday night.
Ben Knapton
