Liverpool boss Arne Slot is now under severe pressure at Anfield and Jamie Carragher reckons the Dutchman could be sacked if the Reds' next three games don't go well
Arne Slot
Arne Slot is under pressure after Liverpool suffered another heavy loss
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Liverpool boss Arne Slot has just one week to save his job according to Anfield favourite Jamie Carragher, who claims the Dutchman's position could become untenable if the Premier League champions' next three games don't go to plan.
Slot oversaw a ninth defeat in 12 matches after Liverpool were thrashed by PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday night. It was the club's third straight losses by three goals and has ramped up the pressure on the former Feyenoord chief, who lifted the Premier League title earlier this year after.
Mirror Football understands that Slot's job is safe for the time being. But if Liverpool's awful form continues then things could chance quickly, with the Reds set to face West Ham at the weekend.
Carragher has now made it clear that he believes Sunday's game in east London, and following matches against newly-promoted Sunderland and Leeds, will prove decisive for Slot's future.
"Arne Slot has a week to save his job," Carragher wrote bluntly in The Telegraph. "It is hard to believe that sentence is being written, but Liverpool’s next three games are against West Ham United, Sunderland and Leeds United. Anything fewer than seven points will make an already unacceptable situation untenable.
"No matter how much goodwill the manager has, Liverpool Football Club cannot sustain the drop in standards witnessed over the past three months.
"No-one knows better than me how much that reality will be hurting everyone connected with my old club. Liverpool do not willingly sack coaches, especially those that bring great success."
Arne Slot
Liverpool suffered a ninth defeat in 12 games
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"With respect to the upcoming opponents, he could not have picked a better sequence of games to win back trust and save himself," Carragher added. "But if it gets any worse and the manager cannot find the answers, the club will have no choice but to find someone else who can."
Carragher believes Slot is 'hanging on' and, with the benefit of hindsight, that there were warning signs in Liverpool's end-of-season form and Carabao Cup Final loss to Newcastle United.
The Champions League winner has questions over the style Slot is now attempting to introduce but reckons fingers most also be pointed at Liverpool's hierarchy. Carragher noted 'signing two expensive No 9s was wrong' in the summer while highlighting the roles of Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes.
"Since the start of this season, Slot has seemed intent on taking the team in a direction which is not in Liverpool’s winning tradition. It felt wrong on day one of this season, and it has led to a mess right now," Carragher said.
Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher thinks Slot's position could be untenable if Liverpool's next three games don't go well
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"Questions will also be asked of those above Slot. History should not be rewritten. When Klopp left, Fenway Sports Group’s No 1 priority was to hire Michael Edwards. He recruited sporting director Richard Hughes, Slot followed and the Premier League was won. It was an extraordinary achievement in year one.
"People will try to write off that first season as “Klopp’s team”. I am not having it. The team would have improved and may have won the title under Klopp – we will never know – but Slot used tactics that his predecessor never would such as using Ryan Gravenberch as a No 6, and Luis Diaz as a No 9. He rejuvenated Mohammed Salah to have the season of his life. People were calling for the Egyptian talisman to be sold before Slot arrived.
"But it is incredible that Liverpool have since spent £450m to create an unbalanced squad, lacking enough cover on the wings and at centre-back. After selling Diaz, Liverpool have come into this season without genuine competition for Salah and Cody Gakpo. It’s all well and good asking for one or both to be left out, but who replaces them?"
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