Arne Slot insists there were no crisis talks with the Liverpool board today following last night’s 4-1 defeat to PSV Eindhoven.
Slot’s position at Anfield is beginning to come under scrutiny after a miserable run which 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 substandard performance to slip to 13th in the Champions League table.
Slot admitted he spoke to people above him, but insisted they were routine discussions.
“We’ve had the same conversations since I’ve been here,” he said. “We keep fighting. And we’re trying to get better, that’s what we’re all trying to do. The conversations have been the same as the last 18 months.”
Liverpool players not to blame, says Slot
Liverpool’s players have talked a lot in recent weeks – led by captain Virgil van Dijk, who awarded a penalty in a chaotic display against PSV – but have failed to back it up with action.
When asked if he felt let down by any players, Slot replied: “No, not at all. Although I agree that our standards,[as a] team, were not at the level we are used to. We think we can play better than we do. The focus is on the team and not on individuals. If the opposite happens, we look at the team and not the individuals.
Liverpool travel 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 will head to London to display a unified front.
“It’s not easy to say what I can do differently. If you win, lose or draw, you think about the decisions you make in the week, maybe you’ll do it more if you lose. We’re trying to find the answer we need to win a game. At the end of the day it’s about doing what this club is about: keep fighting, we have to fight together,” he said.
“It would also be good if we rewarded ourselves in the moments when we play well, because there are big games when we do that. Every little mistake or error leads us to concede a goal.”
There is always pressure – Slot
Slot admitted he was under pressure, while claiming that had always been the case at a club like Liverpool.
“[There is always] a lot of pressure if you work at a top club, even more if you lose more than that club is used for [to]”, he said. “There is always pressure. Last year it was about winning the championship, but now the pressure is different.
“Maybe my job is easier because I don’t have to play. It’s difficult for all the players, when we lose after five minutes and play well in the first half, then we concede in the second half, so we get blow after blow after blow. We keep fighting. That’s what we did so well last year and that’s the minimum we expect over 90 minutes.”
Slot suggested he was unimpressed with Liverpool’s level of effort, trailing 3-1 against PSV, but explained it was down to the players’ loss of confidence.
“I don’t think [confidence] is weak at the start of the match or even at 1-0,” he said.
“After the third or fourth shot, after 3-1, I saw 10 difficult minutes and I could see that it was hurting the players, and it was not when our fighting spirit was the best in the match, to put it mildly.”
Goalkeeper Alisson is expected to return this weekend after missing last night’s match through illness. Florian Wirtz is likely fit while Liverpool are optimistic. Hugo Ekitike’s blow against PSV is not a major problem.
