Slot has struggled to turn things aroundplaceholder image
Slot has struggled to turn things around | AFP via Getty Images
Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been speaking ahead of his side’s clash with Crystal Palace.
Palace won that one, and it began a real slide from the Premier League champions, who have lost four straight league games, while they have lost five in six across all competitions.
The Reds will want to snap that streak on Wednesday night, but Palace have the Liverpool blueprint, which will make this one another fascinating game. Addressing his side’s poor form in his programme notes, Slot wrote: “It goes without saying that our recent form has not reached the standards that you expect of us or that we expect of ourselves. This is, of course, a major disappointment, especially given the positive start we made to the season.
"From our perspective, there are no excuses. Yes, we are aware of the reasons and we will discuss them, but the one thing we cannot and will not do is use them as an excuse. Our responsibility is to recognise what is happening and put things right. There is no other option.
"Part of this process involves being hurt. We should be hurt by results like Saturday's when we lost to Brentford, and we should use the feelings this creates to further fuel our motivation. Not that anyone could accuse the players of a lack of effort – if anything, the opposite is true – but how we use this effort and desire is what will make the difference.”
Speaking about Wednesday night’s clash and Palace, Slot added: “Tonight's fixture gives us an opportunity to take a step forward, not just in this competition but also in our season as a whole. That it comes against an opponent that continues to prove itself to be very strong means this will be a testing cup tie but, again, this is the kind of challenge that we have to embrace.
"Of course, we have already faced Palace in the Premier League this season and the result on that occasion was not what we would have hoped for. Credit to Palace for that. Their winning goal came very late on that occasion after we had equalised following a difficult first half for us, so we should be aware not just of the problems they can cause but also of their ability to keep going until the final whistle.
"At the time of writing these notes, I have not made a final decision on the squad that we will use for this game – there is a need to train and to check on availability – but whichever players we use have to be ready to face a team like Palace.
"We also have to work hard to play our football. There has been a lot of discussion about the direction that football has taken in England this season and while this kind of conversation is totally normal, we have to show that not only can we deal with these changes but also that we impose our game on our opponents. Again, I would be the first to admit that this has not happened enough up to now and we take responsibility for this.”
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