**Arne Slot admits Liverpool’s dressing room is struggling with the loss of Diogo Jota.**
Jota and his brother Andre Silva were killed in a road crash, just days before he was due to return for pre-season training, which sent shockwaves throughout football.
The impact of the forward’s untimely passing was placed in fresh focus by Andy Robertson’s emotional interview after Scotland qualified for next year’s World Cup.
Liverpool’s vice-captain admitted that Jota had been in his thoughts ‘all day’ ahead of his country’s momentous achievement as they downed Denmark on Tuesday.
Ahead of Saturday’s visit of Nottingham Forest, Slot conceded that the Premier League champions are still mourning the loss of the popular Portugal international.
However, the Reds’ head coach insists that Jota’s death will never be used as an excuse for his side’s results as they struggle to regain a foothold in the title race.
“I think we’re always judged sometimes fair, sometimes unfair,” said Slot.
“I saw the (Robertson) interview live, and I know that it is an issue for us, which is completely normal.
“But then at these moments of time, I always think about how much I feel for his wife and his children, because that’s so, so, so, so much harder for them than it is for us.
“We miss the player and the person, that is completely clear.
“Maybe it tells you even more now we play Nottingham Forest. Last season we were 1-0 down at Forest and it only took him one minute to score the equaliser.
“So now I’m talking about the player that we miss. This season we haven’t managed to come back as many times as last season after being a goal down, and he definitely played his part last season.
“We also miss him as a person, that is completely clear. But again, his wife and children will miss him so much more, and his parents as well.”
He added: “I think it’s good to remember him every time possible, because of the person and player he was.
“But it’s impossible to measure what it does to the players and then to measure what it does for our results.
“The last thing I will do is to use it as an excuse, because I simply don’t know.
“What I do know is what we do miss the player, that’s 100% sure, and we also miss the person.
“But I cannot measure what impact that has on our performances, let alone on our results. That’s impossible for me to say.
“We will never use it as an excuse, because that doesn’t feel right.”