Three wins won’t silence the criticism, says Liverpool manager Arne Slot

LONDON – Liverpool manager Arne Slot has admitted that even three wins from their final three matches will not silence criticism of an underwhelming English Premier League season, while he also forecasted a season of less transition next term despite club stalwarts leaving in the summer.

The Dutchman was speaking a day ahead of the Reds’ clash with Chelsea at Anfield on May 9.

Win the game – and provided results elsewhere go their way – and Liverpool would move a step closer to playing Champions League football next season.

The aim is clear, but Slot believes there is much more to work on even if they qualify.

“This season has been gone in a way that even if we have three wins and positive performances, I don’t think anyone will be positive about the season,” he said of Liverpool’s disappointing campaign. “It’s important we get at least one win over the line which might be enough (for the Champions League).

“But three wins won’t silence the criticism. Therefore we need to have a much longer run of result and performances. It always weighs heavy on players if you lose more games than you would want, especially at a club like this.

“These players are used to winning. The performance, clearly in the Premier League, we didn’t pick up the points we should have.

“We haven’t had a very good season in the Premier League.”

Regardless of how the season went, Liverpool can at least secure a top-five finish if they win against Chelsea. They are fourth in the table on 58 points, six clear of sixth-placed Bournemouth and seven above Brentford in seventh.

This means that, with two games left after this round of fixtures, the Reds will book their place in Europe’s elite club competition next campaign if they claim victory over the Blues and Bournemouth drop points at Fulham.

Slot’s men suffered a 3-2 loss at Manchester United heading into this fixture, ending their three-match winning run in the league. The Liverpool boss also spoke about how mentality is key in big games like these.

“Mentality, we have shown many times the mentality to come back into the game such as last Sunday. When we were at 2-2, we felt we deserved to get a third goal but it didn’t happen,” he said.

“For me, mentality has nothing to do with age. It’s more about the personality of the player. Of course, you can inject it in the transfer market, but we have a lot of players who have the right mentality to play for this club.”

Veteran stars Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson have confirmed they will leave the Reds after this season, while captain Virgil van Dijk is also linked with a move away.

The trio have the experience and the top mentality that Slot demands but should all three depart, the 47-year-old is not too worried about a transition phase.

“I’m only looking forward to it, so I’m not worried at all,” he said. “As I looked forward to working with these players two years ago and one year ago, to look forward to the players I am working with now.

“As a manager you’re never worried, you’re just looking forward to working with players. There will probably be another little transition, but not as drastic as last summer.”

In the other camp, Chelsea interim boss Calum McFarlane said the Blues have the “foundations” for success after Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher labelled them a “broken club” following a disastrous Premier League run.

The former Liverpool defender spoke out after Chelsea suffered a sixth straight league defeat on May 4, falling 3-1 at home against Nottingham Forest.

They have slumped to ninth in the table and their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League appear to be over.

But McFarlane, who took charge after Liam Rosenior was sacked in April, was bullish about Chelsea’s future ahead of the Liverpool clash.

“It’s Jamie’s job – he’s a pundit, he’s got to give his opinion and I respect that. I can only speak on my experience at this club,” McFarlane said on May 7.

“And I think that there’s a lot of foundations for this team to have success. We’re not in the best form at the moment, but I do think there are foundations there for this team to be successful.

“I do see these boys every day, every training session, every meeting, in the gym. They are in a good place to go and attack games.” AFP