Arne Slot is finding it increasingly difficult to avoid the mounting questions about his position with Liverpool following Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest. The loss extends Liverpool's dreadful run of form, with six losses in their last seven Premier League matches and eight defeats in their last 11 games across all competitions.
The Reds' title defence appears to be crumbling after just 12 league games. The concern isn't merely that Liverpool are losing so many matches; the performance against Forest was perhaps the most alarming this season. Despite a significant summer spending spree, Slot has yet to inspire his squad to perform.
Despite the current struggles, Slot still has considerable goodwill from last season's success, and club chairman Tom Werner expressed his support for him only a few days ago. However, FSG, the club's owners, have demonstrated their ruthlessness in the past.
It's been a decade since the club's owners had to make a decision on sacking a manager or head coach, with Brendan Rodgers being the last one to face the axe back in 2015. Rodgers, like Slot, had received backing in the transfer market - albeit to a lesser extent of £80 million - ahead of 2015/16.
However, after a 1-1 draw with Everton left the Reds languishing in 10th place a couple of months into the campaign, patience had worn thin. According to the Liverpool Echo, just an hour after the match, FSG president Mike Gordon phoned Rodgers to inform him of the decision.
The sacking surprised many observers - memorably captured by Thierry Henry placing a consoling hand on a stunned Jamie Carragher's knee - yet Liverpool's ownership had been making preparations well in advance. FSG had in fact devoted the previous fortnight to identifying a potential replacement, and just days prior to Rodgers' departure, Jurgen Klopp was holding discussions with Liverpool's hierarchy.
Klopp said of his first contact with FSG: "The first meeting was in New York, that's true. But the first phone call with Mike was before that, three days before I don't know. It was a nice day, I remember that. I think I was in bed still. I had nothing to do. I had time off.
"I knew that Mike, or someone, from FSG was going to call. I didn't know Mike at that point. But we had one hour on the phone. I obviously convinced him in a way that he wanted to meet in New York to bring the deal over the line. pretty much that's how it started."
Both Liverpool and Klopp succeeded in maintaining the meeting's confidentiality - the latter claiming at the time his American visit was to attend a basketball match - and following six hours of negotiations, arrangements were underway for the German manager to succeed Rodgers. There's no evidence to suggest that any clandestine meetings with potential successors have been happening behind Slot's back, although FSG have proven their ability to keep such matters hush-hush.
With the club's chairman Werner present at the Forest defeat on Saturday, Slot will be unable to avoid the watchful eyes of Liverpool's top brass. The Reds' manager must devise a strategy to reverse their fortunes, or risk FSG making only their second dismissal in ten years.