Arne Slot maintains he retains the confidence of the Anfield hierarchy following yet another crushing defeat that has left Liverpool enduring the club's most dismal spell in more than 70 years.
"I feel I am okay with my position," declared Slot following the devastating 4-1 home loss to PSV Eindhoven. "I've been feeling safe. I've got a lot of support from above. They are helpful to me, but they don’t phone me every single minute of the day to tell me they trust me. I feel the trust, but I haven’t spoken to them after this game."
Across the Premier League and Champions League, Slot's players have now suffered defeat in nine of their previous 12 fixtures, marking Liverpool's most wretched sequence of results since the 1953-54 campaign.
"The emotions are very negative," said Slot. "I think it is a shock for everyone - for the players, for the journalists, for me. It is very, very unexpected. But we have to face where we are and fight really hard."
Meanwhile, former captain Steven Gerrard suggests the Reds find themselves in circumstances that haven't quite reached a crisis point... but aren't far from it.
Gerrard commented: "Crisis is a very strong word for players that have delivered for this club and the manager who has delivered for this club. But that (the performance against PSV) is not good enough. There are no excuses for that.
Liverpool lost again on Wednesday
Liverpool lost again on Wednesday (Image: Getty Images)
"I won’t use that word (crisis) just yet, but you can’t deny that this team is struggling massively.
"They are on a terrible run, confidence is at an all-time low, and they just keep bleeding. They keep conceding goals; they are wide open. And unless the manager can find answers and stability in the team, it is going to continue."
However, Slot attempted to stay optimistic, stating: "I want to be positive about the reaction of the players after we went 1-0 down because until half time we played a good game. The players have so much quality that it cannot continue like this."
Reds legend Jamie Carragher was asked on CBS Sports whether Liverpool will fire Slot after such a dismal run of results.
"Liverpool is not a sacking club," replied Carragher. "I say Liverpool, I think are different from almost every club in European football. The manager is the king, you know, the managers get time. Liverpool have never sacked a manager who's won the league.
"Never in their history. They’ve all after a few years, they've gone, they've resigned. I couldn't believe at the weekend that people were talking about the manager's job when I spoke to Liverpool supporters after losing a home to Nottingham Forest.
"It's only going to amplify now, and I've always been in the camp of you stick with the managers. I'm angry with the players, if I'm being totally honest, I'm really angry with the players. But it does get to a stage with any manager at any club - I always use this word - untenable, where it almost feels like it can't go on any longer.
"I'm not quite there yet, personally, in terms of the manager, but I know a lot of supporters will be. I've had a lot of time to think about it, because I knew the game was over well before the final whistle."
Slot may be forced to travel to West Ham without Hugo Ekitike, who was substituted early in the second half due to a back injury.