Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, speaks to the media during a Liverpool press conference ahead of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD5 match against PSV Eindhoven at AXA Melwood Training Centre on November 25, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)placeholder image
Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, speaks to the media during a Liverpool press conference ahead of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD5 match against PSV Eindhoven at AXA Melwood Training Centre on November 25, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Arne Slot spoke to the media at the AXA Training Centre and LiverpoolWorld were in attendance.
The media waited in anticipation.
Arne Slot’s pre-West Ham press conference had been scheduled before the sobering 4-1 loss to PSV Eindhoven. When he woke up in the morning, the Liverpool head coach might have regretted opting for 3pm on Thursday rather than 9am on Fridays like usual - especially after going on to admit he had a bad night’s sleep.
The change of schedule did not stop the regular faces from packing in the media room at the AXA Training Ground to preview Sunday’s trip to West Ham United. A member of the Dutch press remained on Merseyside for the briefing, but the number of those who gathered did not reflect a head coach who some fans feel is undeserving to still be in a job.
After Slot walked in two minutes behind schedule, he said his usual pleasantries. However, there was no jesting like there was so often en route to the Premier League title last season. It was one of the ways he charmed the media and supporters alike.
This was strictly business. Following nine losses in 12 matches and Liverpool already dropping out of the title race, Slot knows that it is not a time for jokes. The Reds head coach is under pressure to turn things around and swiftly.
In truth, Slot could have been prepared for his first question; whether he held talks with Liverpool’s hierarchy. After admitting that he felt safe after the PSV game, it was a stance he reiterated and insisted that conversations with those above on Friday were the same as they have been since his arrival on Merseyside in June 2024.
What was noticeable was the numerous times that Slot used the word fight in several answers. It seems clear that he sees one way out of Liverpool’s wretched form: to dig deep. Given how much he emphasised that sentiment, it could be the case of Slot deviating from his favoured philosophy. He knows that victories are required, no matter the performance. The Liverpool boss may change for substance over style at West Ham.
Slot did insist there were large parts of the Reds’ games that they have played well in and tried to highlight that the errors conceded led to conceding.
Then there finally a bit of laughter from the Dutchman. It came when he was asked about Liverpool’s expected goals total in the previous three games, 6.59 compared to a combined 5.39, but they have netted only once and conceded 10. A brief chuckle, born out of frustration before saying that very word. Slot knows that had chances been converted, such as Alexis Mac Allister having a shot cleared off the line when the game was goalless in the 3-0 defeat by Nottingham Forest and Cody Gakpo heading over the crossbar when Liverpool trailed PSV 2-1, he might not be under as much scrutiny.
And as Liverpool will train properly on Saturday before travelling to London, there are Kopites hoping Slot makes changes to his starting line-up. The likes of Ibrahima Konate and Cody Gakpo have endured their struggles. LiverpoolWorld asked Slot if the team needed a jolt and some of the fringe players such as Joe Gomez, Wataru Endo and Federico Chiesa were in his thinking. He replied: "You consider everything. until now I have decided differently but they train with us every single day and they can prove themselves in those moments.
"It is always a balance if you don’t change people think you should change more and there was a period this season where we lost and I made a few changes and people complained I changed too much and there was never any time the same team. "Of course, I consider (changes) but I can't tell you what the end product of that consideration is for Sunday."
Reading between the lines of that answer, that suggests an emphatic no. Slot must hope that the players he has been trusting and have so far failed finally deliver.
Continue Reading