“I know it's a big job, not just waving a magic wand and Liverpool will suddenly dominate English football again,” A wistful Roy Hodgson explains the task in front of him .

“I enjoy coming here, it's a fantastic place. I've been hammered a few times but maybe it's down to my upbringing – from Newcastle!” Steve Bruce reflects on his welcome from The Kop

SAME final score, different mood and appraisal.

If Roy Hodgson entered Anfield’s Press room on Wednesday night sodden and angry, he left it on Saturday calm and cautiously optimistic.

While a 2-2 draw with Northampton Town was a precursor to one of the most wretched moments in Liverpool’s modern history, another 2-2 – this time with Sunderland – has given Hodgson hope that all might not be lost.

Some supporters will be puzzled by Hodgson’s optimism. Having had chance to reflect on what can only be described as a lively 90 minutes, they will be concerned about a number of issues surrounding their team and what this performance means for the future.

For starters: how could a side that burst out of the blocks with the impetus of a 100 metre sprinter lose its way so badly?

Why have all Liverpool’s first half displays this season been so laboured?

Is this a signal of the level that Hodgson’s men are really at?

It is hard to analyse Liverpool without worrying, particularly when you cast a glance at the Premier League table and see them stuck in the lower reaches with fewer points than all the promoted teams and just one win to their credit from their opening six matches.

When you consider on Saturday that Fernando Torres led the attack, Steven Gerrard, Raul Meireles, Joe Cole and Dirk Kuyt offered attacking options and the back four was perhaps as strong as it can be, it was alarming to see them so totally dominated by Sunderland at times.

Here’s where it gets worrying; if talent of that level cannot brush aside a team that, in truth, can be expected to finisher no higher than between eighth and tenth, what does that signify for Liverpool’s prospects?

Bleak, would be the obvious answer and listening to Steve Bruce talk afterwards, you were able to draw a clear impression of what the rest of the Premier League make of events going on inside Anfield’s corridors of power right now.

“It’s very difficult to judge anyone after six games – even 15 months,” said Bruce. “I think Liverpool have the right man in charge – he’s got vast experience in a difficult time. Always in my experience if it’s unstable above you, with those who employ you, then it filters down.

“It’s unbelievable about this club because it’s never had that. It’s always been stable at the top and run properly. It’s always been an institution. At the moment it’s not got that and it filters down. So for Roy – and everyone concerned – it’s going to be a difficult time ahead until it gets resolved.”