Souness believes manager Arne Slot is being unfairly targeted for Liverpool's woes given the poor form of the players.
“I’m not looking straight at Arne Slot," he told the Liverpool Echo on behalf of SkyBet. "I’m not saying he’s without blame - when you’re the manager, you’re answerable for everything that goes wrong - but I’d start with the players.
"There’s a stat out there showing they consistently run less than the opposition. That’s the starting point. You’re not working as hard.
“When you work hard with the ball it comes naturally - you’re moving to receive, creating angles, manipulating it. It’s when you don’t have the ball that the hard work really matters. I don’t think the pressing has been good enough, and that makes the back four vulnerable.
“The players in the dressing room have to look at themselves for what’s been an indifferent season."
Souness added: “In my Liverpool days, the message was simple: work as hard as the opposition and you’ll be fine because you’re good players. That hasn’t happened enough this season.
"For all the people who want to complicate the game with tactics and analysis, sometimes it’s basic - you’re not matching the opposition for effort.
"And when you’ve got the sort of quality Liverpool have, that’s what I would be saying to them: on your day you can beat anyone. But the first thing you need to do is match the opposition’s effort and Liverpool have not done that consistently this season.”