IT WAS a grim, desolate scene at Melwood in the aftermath of Liverpool's Euro exit.
Anfield was coming to terms with another trophy-less season. There was no prospect of Champions League football in the near future, managerial gossip continued and star players were hinting at moving on.
You'd be forgiven for thinking this was the picture following a calamitous result against FC Braga on Thursday night.
Instead, Jamie Carragher is recalling the grimness of life at Anfield 12 months ago.
In those days the weekly question "Where do we go from here?" prompted a shrug of resignation and a request to change the subject.
Today the circumstances may seem familiar but there is no sense of deja vu.
"It is much different now to when we went out of Europe a year ago," said Carragher.
"I feel that the worst is over. Since the new owners arrived, Kenny Dalglish and Steve Clarke came in and Damien Comolli joined the club, you get a sense there is a clear direction and things are moving forward.
"The owners have not made a decision on the manager long-term yet, but the current set-up has worked well.
"The ownership is right and the management team is right, so it is just on the pitch where we need to get it right again and there is belief we will be back competing for a Champions League spot next season.
"Obviously it is disappointing to go out of Europe and it has not been a good season. We are not going to shy away from that, but there is a big change.
"There was so much uncertainty when we went out last season and it is not like that now.
"I'd say the morale across the club has improved. You see the lads and staff with smiles on their faces again, with everyone enjoying being at Liverpool.
"I can remember going into training at the end of last season wondering what was going to happen next.
"We were looking for a sense of when the club was going to be sold, worried what was going to be in the papers next or what was around the corner.
"It was difficult because players like myself and Stevie [Gerrard] would worry about it all the time and get too emotionally involved.
"It is because we look at things from the point of view that we'll be at Liverpool for the rest of our careers and will still be following the club after we finish.
"We wouldn't be just thinking about the next few years but about the long-term future of the club and what it would all mean.
"Perhaps the foreign lads, or players who don't necessarily see themselves as Liverpool fans as well as players, are able to take a more objective, more detached view on these things.
"They will always have the option of moving on if things are not improving, whereas for Stevie and myself that would be a lot more difficult because we feel we'll always want to be here, fighting to make the club better.
"Going elsewhere is not an option either of us wanted to consider, so we'd be thinking to ourselves what kind of players will we be able to sign in future?
"It is natural there were times you wondered which players would leave next and who would come in."
Aside from some impressive wins over Chelsea and Manchester United, the perception of Liverpool sorting themselves out off the pitch is more convincing than the ongoing inconsistent performances.
Dalglish's unifying management style allied to the impact of the £58million investment in a new strikeforce of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez, likely to be paired for the first time at Sunderland today, has been the catalyst for the upbeat mood.
"I'm a big watcher of football on the television and I can remember seeing Andy Carroll in the first few weeks of the season thinking he has set the Premier League alight," said Carragher.
"I was thinking, 'He doesn't half look a handful, that lad, he'd be a nightmare to play against'.
"I thought I'd love us to be able to go into the transfer market and sign a player like that but at the start of this season you would never have thought it possible.
"He is young, powerful and has got so much about him he has the potential to be Liverpool and England's No.9 for the next 10 years.
"I'm sure the first chance he gets, Fabio Capello will have him back in the England squad. To go and sign him as we did really sent out a message.
"Those first few signings by the new owners are really exciting. Luis Suarez looks a fantastic prospect. You can see how that partnership can develop.
"When we have Andy fully fit and firing we're going to have a strong forward line for many seasons.
"We'll just have to get used to each others' styles. We went a bit too long ball on Thursday because we were getting desperate, but that will develop.
"There are still plenty of important games this season so we've got to look for a strong finish and then we can look forward to next year.
"This club is synonymous with Europe so we will be doing everything to qualify again with fifth spot our best hope. To not be in it next season will be hard to take, but you have to try and look at it in a positive way.
"Maybe it will allow us to focus all our energies on getting back into the Champions League.
"I would always rather be in Europe than not, but getting into the top four again is going to be so important.
"I'm sure at the start of next season top four will be a realistic aim."
It has been another blighted campaign for Liverpool, who travel to Sunderland today in search of three points that could push them towards a European place.
Carragher was himself caught up in controversy following his tackle on Manchester United winger Nani when the teams met at Anfield earlier this month, with Liverpool eventually winning 3-1.
After a succession of attacks on him for the challenge, he admitted it was not his proudest moment.
"I apologised for it and said it was a poor tackle so I was pleased to see he was back in training six days later," said Carragher.
"I have played nearly 700 games and for 15 years in a position where you have to make dozens of tackles every week and that's the first time I've made a challenge which did not look so good.
"Nani miscontrolled it slightly and the ball was in mid-air as I got to him. I thought I could get the ball and I mistimed it.
"There have been a few comments from Nani and Sir Alex Ferguson since but it certainly wasn't intended to be malicious."
