Gianfranco Zola has said he has learned much from the weekend and reiterated his trust in the future potential of his team.
West Ham United may have succumbed to a 3-0 defeat by Liverpool but the scoreline did not tell the whole story - not that the manager was making any excuses even without the services of four England internationals in Scott Parker, Kieron Dyer, Carlton Cole and Dean Ashton while Liverpool had their three world-class performers on view in Javier Mascherano, Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
"I wanted to make a statement but unfortunately the result did not go for us," he said. "The performance was encouraging for me. To beat teams like Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester United you need to perform at a very high level.
"The difference between teams like us and them is big but on the quality of football side, we are getting there. I am confident that soon we are going to be competing with them. We just need to improve a little bit of quality in the last third but I am confident we are on the right way.
"Every game is a lesson for me. Sometimes with teams like that it is not enough to play better than them or at least as good as them. You need something extra. We are going to try to work to get that."
That 'something extra' could be in the form of Cole, who the manager hoped would be fit for next weekend's trip to Everton, while Parker and Dyer are also working on their fitness in a bid to play at Goodison Park.
The manager admitted that while Gerrard took his two chances with aplomb, before Ryan Babel's late clincher, his own side had not had the best of luck in front of goal. "That probably has been the weakest link. We are a team that creates a lot of chances but doesn't score as many as it creates."
The best of the weekend opportunities fell to David Di Michele and Zola had words of encouragement for the striker. "Di Michele remains a key player. Maybe he doesn't score many goals but he makes the team play very well … when we lost Scott Parker he was the one who was really helping the manoeuvre of the team. He is an important player for us and I am 100 per cent sure about that.
"In the last few weeks, Diego Tristan was giving those goals we need. When we have Cole it is a big thing for us. We will see." He could also have Savio firing fully at Goodison Park after choosing to leave him on the bench against the Reds because illness affected his preparation. Instead, Josh Payne got a welcome first taste of senior football at the Boleyn.
"Savio didn't train all the week and also it is just I made a decision that when the game was nearly finished I wanted to give a young player the possibility to play in the first team. It is as simple as that. Savio is still a player that we trust and believe in and I am sure he will make an impact with West Ham."
Coming up short against a team battling for the title with just two weekends remaining requires perspective and the manager said he had renewed optimism for the final fixtures and then the season to come.
"In the first half, the way we played was very encouraging. It was not much less than them. The difference was Gerrard had two chances and scored two goals. He punished us. We will try to bridge the gap. When it is going to be I don't know, but I am sure we are going to get there. Trust me.
"I am not considering next year yet. We will focus on this year and then we will see what we can do. Maybe, it is not the moment. It won't improve the situation if I start thinking about next year because also that depends a lot on the position we are going to get this year."