As he faced up to Liverpool's catastrophic start to the Premier League season, Roy Hodgson said it would "defy credulity" if they were to be relegated. Not for 26 years has the club dipped into the bottom three and not since 1964 have they finished a round of matches in the relegation zone. However, Hodgson was defiant when asked if he thought a club that has won 18 League titles was in danger of dropping out of the top flight. "I have to accept that we are in the relegation zone after seven games," he said. "But if you asked me whether we will be [there] after 38 matches, I would say that defied credulity." Nevertheless, Liverpool, with six points from seven games, have made a similar start to Blackburn's in 1998, when Hodgson's side picked up five points from the same number. He was sacked in November and Rovers went down six months later. "My concerns are not about relegation," Hodgson said. "But the fact that we are not fulfilling our potential from minute one to minute 90. I have theories as to why Liverpool are not starting games well, but it is not because players are not going out there with the right attitude. But we should not need to go one or two goals down before we have a reaction. "We almost did get a draw but it is a bad day and a bad result. It is a fantastic achievement for Blackpool but their dream result