Steven Gerrard has expressed his disbelief at Liverpool’s 3-0 opening day loss to West Brom, admitting that he had expected his side to dominate the game.

With Luis Suarez failing to impress at one end of the pitch, Zoltan Gera, Peter Odemwingie and debutant Romelu Lukaku all netted to condemn the Reds to their biggest defeat in the first game of a new season since 1937.

Daniel Agger was also given his marching orders to compound a sense of “total shock” among the Liverpool squad, Gerrard revealed.

“The feeling after was one of total shock with the result. It was never a 3-0 game,” the Reds captain told the Liverpool Echo.

“I fancied us to go there, dominate and win but things didn’t work out that way. In football you can be left feeling hard done by.

“It took us five minutes to settle down but after that we controlled the game until they scored against the run of play just before half-time. In the second half quite a few things didn’t go our way at big times.”

The Merseyside outfit now face an immediate distraction from the Premier League in the shape of an away trip to Scottish side Hearts in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

Gerrard acknowledged that the loss against the Baggies was not an ideal way to kick the season off and is taking responsibly for the result while vowing to get back on track against John McGlynn’s men.

“It’s not the start we wanted but it’s no time for panic,” he added. “It’s only the first game and it was one bad day at the office.

“We’ve got to look at the bigger picture. There’s been so much hope around the place and rightly so.

“After a 3-0 defeat everyone is going to be concerned. It’s important that the likes of myself and the other experienced players take responsibility for a poor defeat.

“We have to put it behind us. We’ve got to dust ourselves down and bounce back against Hearts on Thursday night.

“We have to react in the right manner and look to put things right in the coming games.”

Daniel Agger has revealed he intends to appeal his sending-off in Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat to West Brom on Saturday.

The Dane was dismissed after tangling with Shane Long with the Irishman clear on goal and the Reds already 1-0 down to Steve Clarke’s men.

Long went on to miss from the spot, but Agger believes that referee Phil Dowd made an error in giving the foul in the first place – which also appears to have been outside the box.

“Of course. I’ve seen it again on television and there is no contact,” the 27-year-old insisted when asked if he would appeal.

“Referees are only human. They make mistakes as well.

“I was unlucky to be involved in one of the mistakes. It’s frustrating but that’s part of the game.”

The Reds got off to the worst possible start in Brendan Rodgers’ first league game in charge and the Denmark international is desperate to put things right over the course of the season.

“I know we will bounce back from this,” added Agger. “I think we controlled the game before the sending-off.

“We had the momentum, we kept the ball well and we created chances. The red card changed the game.

“Everyone is frustrated. I don’t think the result was right. It doesn’t really make sense. But that’s football and it happens.

“We have to continue. We showed a bit of the football we want to play. The manager said the same – that we controlled the game, created some chances and were a bit unlucky with some decisions.

“At Liverpool, the spotlight is always there. There is no reason to panic. I think the Premier League is getting better and better. There will always be tough games ahead.”

Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen is counting on his side to bounce back from the disappointment of their 3-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion when they take on champions Manchester City next Sunday.

Brendan Rodgers suffered a dismal start to his Liverpool career with a heavy defeat, in a game which also saw Daniel Agger sent off.

Yet the Reds face a busy week, travelling to Hearts in the Europa League on Thursday before welcoming City to Anfield, and Allen is looking forward to the challenge.

“It was brilliant to make my debut. It wasn’t the ideal debut in terms of the result, but it was one of those days that didn’t go for us and we have to move on from that,” he told the club’s official website.

“It could be a very special week for me, getting the chance to play in Europe for Liverpool and then hopefully my Anfield debut against Manchester City, and we hope at the end of both of those games it will be a nicer feeling. We will certainly give everything we have got for our supporters.”

Allen also claimed decisions had gone against the Reds in the defeat to West Brom, but backed his team to be ready for the next game against Hearts.

“They scored a fantastic first goal and that was one when sometimes you have to hold your hand up and say it is a great goal and there’s not much we could have done to stop that,” he added.

“The first goal certainly gave them a foothold in the game and then with the decisions that went against us, and going down to 10 men, it changes everything.

“Throughout the season there is going to be some days like this and we will regroup, work hard in training and get ready for Thursday’s game.”