JUST when Roy Hodgson thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did.

Trudging back to the Anfield dressing room at half-time on Saturday, the Liverpool manager, his team losing and the pressure further increasing on his position, allowed himself a moment’s contemplation.

“My overriding thought at that moment was ‘can it really be this cruel?’” says the 63-year-old. “I thought ‘can it be even worse, that even when we look like winning comfortably we are going to lose it 1-0?’

“It was bad enough against Wolves when we played poorly, but they still sneaked a goal which they hadn't really looked like scoring.

“But we had 45 minutes to put it right. People were determined and they were totally in agreement with me that we were going to turn it around, that we were going to keep fighting and we will get the two goals we need. We left it late but we got there.”

Indeed they did. What could have been the death knell for Hodgson instead provided a much-needed shot in the arm for Liverpool’s Premier League campaign in terms of results, confidence and character.

Come the final whistle, with Joe Cole’s late, late strike having secured a hard-earned but ultimately deserved victory against Bolton Wanderers, Hodgson, critical of and then contrite with the Anfield support in the wake of Wednesday’s shocking loss, made a point of saluting the Kop and mouthing the words “thank you”.

Hodgson will be forgiven for saying the same to Steven Gerrard as he then embraced each of his players.

Not for the first time, the Anfield skipper rode to the rescue of a Liverpool manager. But it took a twist of fate for Gerrard to be introduced after only 21 minutes in place of a hobbling Raul Meireles, with fears over his fitness after a long-term absent having prompted Hodgson to make the brave move of leaving his captain on the bench.