‘We believe in the manager’ – Wirtz backs under-fire Liverpool boss Slot

Florian Wirtz says the Liverpool dressing room remains firmly behind manager Arne Slot despite a nightmare run of form that has left the Dutchman’s future under intense scrutiny.

The Reds’ title defence has fallen off a cliff in recent months, with the Merseysiders currently languishing in fifth place in the Premier League. The pressure reached fever pitch on Saturday following a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City in the FA Cup, ending any hopes of domestic silverware

Summer signing Wirtz – who arrived at Anfield in a high-profile deal – is adamant that the squad has not downed tools.

When asked if the players were still playing for Slot, the German international was defiant.

He said: “Yes, of course. We are believing in the manager.

“The team should believe in the manager because they won the league last season. We had a lot of good games this season. We wanted it to be better, but it is what it is now.

“We still have things to play for and everything I can say that is we believe in the manager and try to get our best on the pitch tomorrow.”

The Champions League Litmus Test

Liverpool now turn their attention to the Champions League, where they face a daunting quarter-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.

Wirtz knows that a repeat of Saturday’s defensive collapse will lead to a “painful evening” in the French capital.

The former Leverkusen man highlighted the need for tactical discipline, admitting the team lost their heads over the weekend.

“We need tomorrow 90 minutes with full energy and full commitment, otherwise we will have no chance,” he said.

“We need 90 minutes of being together as a team. Also in difficult moments, if we concede, we have to stick together and believe that we can win this game.

“I think on the weekend we tried too much at one point, so we were a little bit wild on the pitch. Yeah, so we have to fix that for the next game.”