Jamie Carragher has dismissed suggestions his former teammate Steven Gerrard could be in line to replace Arne Slot as Liverpool head coach.
The Dutchman has come under increasing pressure at Anfield following a run of nine defeats in 12, although thankfully that sequence came to an end on Sunday as the Reds came away from West Ham United with a 2-0 victory.
That has eased some of the scrutiny, but a defeat at home to Sunderland on Wednesday would certainly heighten the spotlight once again on the Dutchman. Potential replacements have been mentioned on social media in recent weeks, but Carragher doesn’t think it's a gig for his close friends.
“No, I wouldn’t imagine,” Carragher said on the latest episode of The Overlap Fan Debate, when asked about the possibility of Gerrard taking over from Slot on an interim basis.
“He’s been a manager at Villa and had great success at Rangers as well. He’s a legendary figure and he’s back, floating down Liverpool.
“I don’t think most Liverpool fans will be screaming for Steven Gerrard – everyone is desperate for it to work for Arne Slot. They’re on such a bad run, the flipside of that is then how long does it carry on?”
Rafa Benitez talked about former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard and his deputy Jamie Carragher during the exchange
Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher formed a close bond during their playing careers (Image: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Gerrard has been out of work since leaving Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq in January and has been a TV pundit at Anfield for several recent Liverpool games.
Meanwhile, Carragher added he does not want Liverpool to change head coach mid-season and said he hopes the Reds can build on Sunday’s victory at the London Stadium.
“I felt like Liverpool playing West Ham was the toughest of those [current run of] games, because of the nature of the opposition.
Arne Slot
The pressure was eased on Slot after Sunday's win at West Ham
“They are a team that have been in the bottom three all season, a promoted team in Sunderland, and Leeds are another promoted team who are in the bottom three.
“It feels like if you don’t get results in those, where do you go? The idea of Liverpool changing the manager who won the league, Liverpool have never done that.
“Then, who do you get? The idea of an interim manager just feels like, who and how?”
As for Slot, he cut a relaxed figure in Tuesday’s press conference ahead of the midweek game against Sunderland, even joking about Liverpool’s downturn in form and stating he can understand fan frustration that arose after the recent 3-0 loss against Nottingham Forest.