Liverpool have been warned against making hasty decisions, as Arne Slot’s future at Anfield is cast into speculation. The Reds’ troubles deepened further on Wednesday evening following their Champions League clash with PSV Eindhoven.
Within six minutes of kick-off at Anfield, the home side found themselves trailing after Virgil van Dijk conceded an avoidable penalty for handball. Dominik Szoboszlai levelled matters 10 minutes later and, despite an encouraging 25-minute spell leading into the interval, the second-half display returned to the chaos witnessed over the past two months. Shipping three goals after the restart saw Liverpool slump to a woeful 4-1 defeat, marking their poorest sequence of results in over seven decades.
Consequently, significant debate has emerged surrounding Slot’s future at the Kop, and whether his managerial position has become unsustainable. Ex-Liverpool players and numerous pundits have offered their opinions, with Stephen Warnock urging against impulsive decisions.
However, the pundit also acknowledged that Liverpool’s displays have been substandard for much of the campaign, even during their narrow victories. He told BBC Sport: “At the moment things are not clicking and it all feels very difficult.
“The defeats are just adding up at the moment, and compounding things so they get worse and worse. Is it down to over-confidence? I actually don’t know why, and it is very strange. But there is an apparent lack of fight, which is very hard to see.
“I don’t think there should be a knee-jerk reaction, I think this is a very tough moment at Liverpool for one reason or another, but the one thing I’d say is that things weren’t right at the start of the season either, when they were winning.”
Former Reds star Steve McManaman shared a similar view, insisting it remains premature to demand the manager is sacked. Effectively agreeing with Warnock’s stance, he told TNT Sports: “I think no. I think it’s far too early, what he’s achieved and where he is now this year, that’s a good run of fixtures.
“I understand the question completely but with that run of fixtures, Liverpool still fighting in the Champions League, it’s far too early to come up with a question like that. They will have to be knocked out of the Champions League and wallowing at the bottom of the league.
“You have to give him time for the signings, who have constantly been injured, they’re ones you’d expect to come in and lift the team. If anything, they’ve detracted from the team, they look lopsided.
“It’s far too early to ask a manager that question when he’s achieved so much in a small space of time, I do understand the world we live in, that question will be bandied around.”
Up next for Slot’s Liverpool is a trip to West Ham on Sunday.