Arne Slot feels ‘safe’ despite Liverpool’s latest humiliation

LONDON – Arne Slot insisted that he is confident of avoiding the sack, despite troubled Liverpool’s dismal 4-1 home defeat by PSV Eindhoven on Nov 26.

Slot’s side crashed to a ninth loss in their last 12 matches in all competitions to leave the Dutchman under mounting pressure.

Liverpool’s numerous flaws were brutally exposed by PSV in a Champions League demolition that sparked recriminations, as frustrated fans jeered Slot and his players at the final whistle.

The unusual sight of empty red seats around Anfield well before full time delivered a damning verdict on the team’s astonishing fall from grace this season.

Beaten 3-0 by Nottingham Forest at home in their previous match, Liverpool have lost three successive games and conceded 10 goals.

It is their worst run since the 1953-54 season and Slot is facing pointed questions about his ability to turn the tide.

Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard added to the pressure on Slot with a damning verdict on their plight.

“With each defeat, it gets closer to being a crisis,” he told TNT Sport. “There is no excuses for a performance like that at this football club.

“You cannot deny the team is struggling massively. They are on a terrible run, their confidence is at an all-time low, they are wide open.

“Unless the manager can find answers and stability in his team, then this situation is going to continue.”

But, despite enduring Liverpool’s second-heaviest European defeat, Slot is adamant that he retains the support of US-based owners Fenway Sports Group.

“I am feeling safe, I am OK. I have got a lot of support from above,” the 47-year-old said.

“It would be nice to turn it around and get a victory, of course. But if you are not doing well, then it is normal that questions are asked.

“I am OK with my position. It is not the first time I’ve been in a difficult position, but it is about time that we turned it around. I’m not worried.

“What I mean by that is my focus is on other things than on my own position. I need to do better and that’s what I’m trying to do every single day.”

Liverpool trailed to Ivan Perisic’s early penalty and Dominik Szoboszlai’s equaliser did nothing to galvanise them.

Second-half goals from Guus Til and Couhaib Driouech, who netted twice, condemned the woeful English Premier League champions to their latest humiliation.

The Reds, who have already lost six of 12 EPL matches, were expected to dominate on all fronts this term following last season’s title triumph with a summer spending spree.

But Liverpool head to West Ham United on Nov 30 languishing in 12th place in the EPL.

With their title hopes in tatters, they cannot be certain of reaching the Champions League last 16 either, after a second defeat in five games.

It was also their first home loss in the opening phase of the Champions League in five years.

The Reds are in 13th place in the league phase, with the top eight automatically qualifying for the last 16.

Slot tried to maintain a united front as he called for the players and coaches to take responsibility for the remarkable collapse.

“I think it is always about the team and I think we can all do better; individuals you are talking about, but it goes down to everyone including myself,” he added.

“I don’t think this is the time to emphasise individual errors.”

But Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones was far more acerbic in a blunt assessment of their unexpected struggles.

“I don’t have the answers. Honestly, I don’t. It’s just unacceptable. I’m past being angry inside,” he told RTE.

“We’re going to try and get this team back to where it needs to be, show everyone again what this club is about and why people call it the best team in the world, but right now... it needs to change.” AFP