Liverpool have been in the trenches recently and Arne Slot is under a serious amount of pressure
Liverpool will aim to turn their season around on Sunday afternoon with a win against West Ham United. The Reds have been in horrible form both domestically and in Europe, losing nine of their last 12 matches.
Recent thrashings against Nottingham Forest and PSV have only served to amplify the severity of the situation at Anfield. Arne Slot is under some serious scrutiny thanks to this poor run of form, with speculation growing that he will face the sack if things don’t change quickly.
With some difficult tests coming up against the likes of Inter Milan and Sunderland, the Reds will be hoping that three points against the Hamers will come much easier than previous wins this season. Here, Mirror Football has all the latest coming out of Anfield this weekend.
READ MORE: Liverpool dressing room’s true feelings on Arne Slot sack talk as stars point fingerREAD MORE: Liverpool handed Xabi Alonso green light amid Arne Slot sack pressure
Arne Slot’s ‘impossible’ confession
Arne Slot insists it is “almost impossible” to change things at Liverpool in a flash but remains committed to getting on the right side of the scoreline in the future. With a 4-1 loss to PSV in the Champions League, the Reds have been resigned to their worst spell at the club in 72 years.
Slot is feeling the pressure on his future at Anfield, with a crucial week ahead against West Ham, Sunderland and Leeds United. When asked if he is able to make changes to his starting XI, the Dutchman admitted that the congested fixture list makes this unfeasible.
He said: “Is the question should I change dramatically? If for example you want another system with five defenders that could be an issue. I don’t even have five defenders.
“It suits the players best the system we are playing now, they have played this system probably throughout their whole career and there is hardly any training time for us. So it is almost impossible to change our complete idea about football if we play every two days.”
Players’ true feelings emerge
Despite pressure growing on boss Slot, the Liverpool dressing room has shouldered the blame for the current run of form. Mail Online reports that voices were raised following the loss to Forest and leaders in the group – including captain Virgil van Dijk – are ‘irked’ by the situation.
The main thought is said to be that the players feel they are letting Slot down. This consensus was further strengthened by academy product Curtis Jones, who shared his anger following the PSV defeat.
He said: “It’s unacceptable to be honest. As I said, I don’t even have the words, I’m past being angry and sad, I’m at the point now where I don’t have the words. It’s hard to find the words. I’m a player and a fan, I’m seeing it like this, I haven’t experienced a team play like this bad and results like this.
“At the end of the day, we still have that badge on our chest, until that badge goes, we’re always going to fight, try get this team to where it needs to be and show why Liverpool is the best team in the world. But as of now, we’re in the s*** and it needs to change.”
Slot is in agreement with his squad that the football isn’t good enough, but he isn’t feeling let down by his team. He said: “No, not at all. Although I do agree with you that our standards, and with our, I mean the team, [they] have not been of the standards we are used to and that we want.
“We think we can play better than we do. 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. If the opposite is happening, we should also look at the team and not the individuals. That’s what it’s about for me.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
