Liverpool manager Arne Slot intends on weathering the storm of his side’s ongoing slump into Sunday’s trip to West Ham.Â
The Dutchman spoke the day after a damning 4-1 loss to PSV Eindhoven at Anfield in the Champions League. That was a ninth defeat in 12 games that has seen pressure mount on Slot despite winning the Premier League in his first season at the club.
Wednesday night’s defeat was the third consecutive time Slot’s side has conceded three goals in a game, a first for the club since September 1992. They are also in the midst if a worst run since 1953.
It is thought the Liverpool hierarchy are monitoring the situation closely, with some speculation they might wield the axe today when the Slot’s weekly press conference was brought forward from the usual Friday morning window to Thursday afternoon.
However, it was business as usual for the Reds boss who vowed to keep fighting to turn the situation around and confirmed he is in regular contact with the club’s owners.
He said: “We’ve had the same conversations that we’ve had since I got here. We fight on. We try to improve, but the conversations have been the same as they have been for the last one and a half years.”
The stark turnaround in fortunes has come as a shock after the former Feyenoord manager led Liverpool to a 20th league title in his first season after replacing Jurgen Klopp.
The Reds had also begun the current campaign with seven consecutive wins in all competitions.
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones’ delivered a passionate interview after the PSV defeat where he said he was at a loss to what has gone wrong and suggested the team isn’t fighting hard enough to win games.
Slot said: “I think what he is saying is that if we can bring this to the game as a team the minimum we expect is that we fight. I think we are on the same page when it comes to how we want to get out of this situation.”
Slot confirmed Hugo Ekitike’s injury against Eindhoven “shouldn’t be a big issue”, but the Liverpool manager could not clarify on his availability for Sunday’s away fixture against West Ham.
It was also confirmed that Florian Wirtz and Alisson Becker have made progress in their fight for fitness, with Alisson resuming training today and Wirtz’s final day of rehab tomorrow.
Ahead of the weekend, Liverpool sit 12th in the Premier League and will hope to turn their fortunes around at the London Stadium after collecting just three of the last 21 points available points.
Slot said: “Nuno (Espirito Santo) is having an impact on their results, he has done so well everywhere he has worked in England. He has proven to be a difficult manager to play against. It’s a tough team to beat at the moment, West Ham. We definitely need to be ready for a challenge.”
Liverpool will hope to end a near-barren run and relieve pressure on Slot’s shoulders with three points the aim for this weekend’s trip to East London
