Jurgen Klopp has appealed for calm as he continues to wait for his first win as Liverpool manager, telling worried fans "it's not the end of the world".
Klopp has faced feverish attention both on and off the pitch since replacing the sacked Brendan Rodgers on a three-year contract earlier this month.
The former Borussia Dortmund coach is concerned that his arrival has raised expectations too high and could lead to panic after he failed to win any of his first three games in charge at Anfield.
Klopp has drawn all of his matches so far with Southampton staying level 1-1 on Merseyside as Senegalese midfielder Sadio Mane’s late goal cancelled out Christian Benteke’s header on Sunday.
“We conceded a goal near the end, and it felt like the end of the world, but it is not the end of the world,” Klopp said.
“I hope I’m not the only person in the stadium who thought: ‘This is not the end of the world.’ We can work on this.
“Of course, it is not the best moment for us, because we wasted a lot of energy. Southampton haven’t lost away from home, so we had to work hard.
“You score the goal and you want to win, but it didn’t happen for us today. Football is not a fairytale. Sometimes we can write stories like this but it doesn’t always happen.”
Liverpool struggled to make an impression in the first half, but improved after Benteke replaced the ineffective Divock Origi in attack at half-time.
Benteke, making only his second substitute appearance since returning from a month out with a hamstring injury, rose to head in James Milner’s cross at The Kop end 13 minutes from the end.
Mane, though, found an equaliser from close range nine minutes later after Jose Fonte and Gaston Ramirez had won headers from a free-kick played into Liverpool’s penalty area.
Klopp added: “I saw the next step in our development today. But at the end, we are disappointed because of the result.”
Mane’s afternoon ended in frustration, as he was sent off after collecting two bookings in stoppage time. The midfielder was dismissed for a second booking after a mistimed tackle on Liverpool left-back Alberto Moreno.
Southampton, though, secured the point that means they remain one place above Liverpool, in eighth in the Premier League table.
“It was not our best performance, but we deserved a point,” said Southampton manager Ronald Koeman.
“We reacted well after going a goal behind. Our defensive organisation is good, it is difficult to create chances against us.”
Koeman suggested that Klopp will have to get used to the levels of expectation that come with managing a club of Liverpool’s stature.
“Teams like Liverpool, if they have a change in management, there is always a change in expectation. I know that. I have played for big teams and I know the expectation on the manager of Liverpool is always bigger than that of Southampton,” he said.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE