Jamie Redknapp has revealed he thinks Arne Slot has earnt patience from Liverpool supporters despite a catastrophic recent run of form. The Premier League champions have suffered defeat in seven of their previous eight league fixtures, with the displays equally alarming.
Nevertheless, having steered Liverpool to the title in the last campaign with matches to spare, Slot has earned some goodwill to reverse the situation, with Redknapp firmly backing this view. Speaking on Sky Sports, he declared: "They [Liverpool] need to be patient, Arne Slot deserves that after last year."
The pundit also highlighted that Diogo Jota's tragic death and the new recruits failing to settle have additionally affected Liverpool. Their most recent setback came on Saturday afternoon as Nottingham Forest secured a 3-0 victory at Anfield - 14 months since their triumph at the same venue last campaign.
That represented Liverpool's sole league loss at home last season, yet it marks their second just months into this term, having also lost to Manchester United. Chelsea, Manchester City, Brentford and Galatasaray have also beaten since Liverpool since their winning streak ended courtesy of Crystal Palace in late September.
Florian Wirtz and Conor Bradley were absent for Saturday's clash because of fresh injuries, and with Jeremie Frimpong still sidelined, Curtis Jones shifted to right-back. Alexander Isak was also back up front which placed Hugo Ekitike amongst the substitutes. The latter was brought on shortly after the interval whilst Isak was withdrawn in the 68th minute.
Slot's choice to start with the Swedish striker was foreshadowed during his Friday press conference. “Alex, it will still take a bit of time but he will end up being the player he was at Newcastle if we get him fit, or how he was at Sociedad or all the other clubs he was at,” Slot said.
“He just needs to become fit. That is the challenge and it is underestimated so much if you bring a player in on September 1, when the league is already three weeks in. I do know that a 100 percent fit Alexander Isak is a big plus for this team. "But for him to get there, he might need to have minutes where you could argue that another player might be further ahead of him in terms of match fitness.
"This morning, I had a conversation with the performance staff: ‘What is the best way for him – not for Liverpool – to get him as fast as we can to that 100%?’. I always have to find the balance between what is the best for him as an individual and for us as a team.”