This week began with Blue Monday, claimed by some to be the most depressing day of the calendar.
But if there is a month of the year that has traditionally left Liverpool supporters down in the dumps under Jurgen Klopp, it's the whole of January.
The evidence is pretty comprehensive.
Liverpool began last year by losing dismally at Southampton in the Premier League, and went on to see their 68-game home unbeaten league run ended by Burnley before slipping to an FA Cup fourth round defeat at Manchester United.
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In 2019, the Reds suffered their sole defeat of the Premier League season at title winners Manchester City while a frustrating 1-1 stalemate at home to Leicester City at the end of the month prompted a run of four draws in six league games that proved costly.
Again, FA Cup interest was ended early, this time by a third-round loss at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Twelve months previous, a January that started with the arrival of Virgil van Dijk, a last-minute winner at Burnley and wins over Everton and Manchester City concluded with a sorry loss at Swansea City - a first defeat in 19 games - and an FA Cup exit at home to West Bromwich Albion.
Back in 2017, Liverpool won just one of nine games in January and, with Sadio Mane on Africa Cup of Nations duty, were dumped out of both domestic cup competitions and saw their title challenge extinguished, while the previous year saw just three wins in nine, although a League Cup final berth was secured by beating Stoke City.
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The only positive January came in 2020 when Liverpool won six of their seven games, including the significant highs of a home FA Cup win over Everton and beating Manchester United at Anfield.
Never, though, has Klopp - who dislikes the distraction the winter transfer window also brings - has to contend with quite as tricky a start to a year as this one.
Losing not just Mane but also Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita to the AFCON has made life difficult enough.
But throw in injuries to the likes of Thiago Alcantara and Divock Origi, along with the disruption of coronavirus, and the Reds, like most other Premier League clubs, are fighting to maintain consistency.
That, then, may go some way to explaining Klopp's surprisingly emotive reaction to Sunday's victory over Brentford.
That he directed a trademark triple fist-pump towards the Kop was nothing unexpected.
But the gusto and seeming defiance in his actions suggested this meant far more than a routine 3-0 triumph against a side Liverpool would usually be expected to turn over.
Klopp knows this will be a testing period, as was evidenced by the frustrating goalless draw in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Arsenal.
Asking a completely revamped forward line to immediately find their groove playing in front of a midfield missing key creative influences was never going to be easy.
And the Reds boss knows that the best way of coping with the challenge is through collective responsibility.
“It is so true that to be successful the entire squad has a role to play," he says. "Every second of every game is an opportunity for us if we are minded to view it as such.
"We can’t switch off even for the briefest of moments and we must not lose focus. Let's get through this together."
Is Klopp creating a siege mentality? Possibly.
What's certain, though, is the Reds boss knows Liverpool need everyone if they are to avoid another blue January.
