No crisis talks at Liverpool, insists Slot, who vows to ‘fight on’
Arne Slot insists there have been no crisis talks with the Liverpool board today following last night’s 4-1 thrashing by PSV Eindhoven.
Slot’s position at Anfield is starting to come under scrutiny after a miserable run that has seen the Premier League champions lose nine of their last 12 games in all competitions.
Liverpool were expected to bounce back from Saturday’s 3-0 horror show against Nottingham Forest against PSV but produced another sub-standard display to slip to 13th in the Champions League table.
Slot admitted he had spoken to people above him but insisted they were routine talks.
“We’ve had the same conversations as we’ve had since I’ve been here,” he said. “We fight on. And we try to improve, that is what we all try. The conversations have been the same as the last 18 months.”
Liverpool players not to blame, says Slot
Liverpool’s players have done a lot of talking in recent weeks – led by captain Virgil van Dijk, who gave away a penalty as part of a shambolic display against PSV – but failed to back it up with action.
Asked if he felt let down by certain players, Slot replied: “No, not at all. Although I do agree that our standards,[as a] team, have not been at the standard we’re used to. We think we can play better than we do. The focus is on the team not the individuals. If the opposite is happening, we look at the team not the individuals.”
Liverpool go to struggling West Ham on Sunday desperately needing a win to end this miserable run and get their season back on track and Slot said they would head to London displaying a unified front.
“It’s not easy to say what I can do different. If you win, lose or draw you reflect on decisions you do in the week, maybe you do it more if you lose. We try to find the answer we need to win a game. In the end it’s about doing what this club is about – keep fighting, we have to fight together,” he said.
“It would also be nice if we reward ourselves in the moments we play well, because there are large parts when we do. Every small mistake or error leads to us conceding a goal.”
There is always pressure – Slot
Slot accepted that he is under pressure, although claimed that was always the way at a club like Liverpool.
“[There is always] a lot of pressure if you work at a top club, even more so if you are losing more than this club is used [to],” he said. “There is always pressure. Last year it was to win the league but now it is a different pressure.
“Maybe my job is easier because I don’t have to play. It’s hard for every player, when we go down after five minutes and play well in the first half and then we concede second half, so we get knock after knock after knock. We keep fighting. It is what we did so well last year and it is the minimum we expect over 90 minutes.”
Slot hinted he was unimpressed with Liverpool’s levels of effort at 3-1 down against PSV but explained it was due to all remaining confidence draining out of the players.
“I don’t think [confidence] is low at the start of the game or even at 1-0,” he said.
“After the third or fourth knock, after 3-1, I saw a difficult 10 minutes and I could see it hurt the players, and it wasn’t when our fighting spirit was the best in the game, to say it mildly.”
Goalkeeper Alisson should return at the weekend after missing last night’s game due to illness. Florian Wirtz is likely to be fit while Liverpool are optimistic Hugo Ekitike’s knock sustained against PSV is not a major issue.