Arne Slot vows to ‘keep fighting’ as Liverpool’s crisis deepens

LONDON – Arne Slot has vowed to “keep fighting”, saying that his conversations with Liverpool’s owners have not changed despite his team’s deep slump.

The English Premier League champions were hammered 4-1 at Anfield by PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Nov 26 – their ninth defeat in their past 12 matches in all competitions.

It is the worst run of form for the 20-time English champions in more than 70 years.

Now the Reds face a trip to rejuvenated West Ham United on Nov 30, desperate to improve on their position of 12th place in the Premier League table.

Slot, who led Liverpool to the league title last season in his first campaign in charge, said in the aftermath of the PSV defeat that he was confident his job was safe.

He held a press conference on Nov 27, previewing the game against the Hammers, who look a different side under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo.

The Liverpool boss was asked whether he has spoken to the club’s owners since the PSV game.

“We’ve had the same conversations since I’ve been here,” Slot said.

“We fight on. And we try to improve. The conversations have been the same as they’ve been for the past 1½ years.”

The Dutchman admitted that Liverpool’s standards had slipped but insisted he did not feel let down by his players.

“We think we can play better than we do,” he added.

“But last season when we did really well, there was a lot of focus on certain individuals and I always said it should be about the team, and the team makes the individuals look very good.

“And if the opposite is happening, we should also look at the team and not at the individuals.”

Slot also said that it was not easy to come up with answers, and specifically his team were failing to make the most of their chances while their mistakes were routinely being punished.

“We get knock after knock after knock, which is hard,” he said. “That’s why I keep saying that, especially when that happens, we have to keep fighting.

“That’s what we’ve done so well last season... And that’s what we expect.”

On the injury front, Alisson Becker is expected to be available to face West Ham after the goalkeeper missed the PSV match with illness and Florian Wirtz could be back in training on Nov 29.

Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank is also under pressure and said he will keep trusting the process as he navigates his way through the first real crisis of his short reign so far.

The Dane’s positive start has been replaced by a sense of gloom with their Premier League home form a particular concern ahead of the clash with Fulham on Nov 29.

The dismal 4-1 defeat by north London rivals Arsenal had fans questioning Frank’s defensive tactics and while there were many encouraging signs away to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Nov 26, they still went down 5-3.

Spurs have won only one of their last six games in all competitions and only one Premier League game at home all season, the opening-weekend victory over promoted Burnley.

Asked how he is dealing with the pressure, Frank said: “Trust my experience, trust my staff, my players, the club, the leadership – that’s key for us to progress as a structure.

“Just to keep doing that. Keep believing, keep working, always one more conversation, one more video clip, one more meeting, one more training session.

“Constantly try to improve bits, know where you want to go, try to improve the culture, the style of play every single day. That’s the key.” AFP, REUTERS