Arne Slot's Liverpool may have beaten Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the Premier League on the weekend, but it's not unfair to say their title defence has started poorly. Club legend Steven Gerrard, though, has offered the Dutch manager his full support in a 'brutally honest' assessment of the Reds' poor form.
Becoming just the fifth manager to do so, Slot won the Premier League title at the first time of asking – all with four matches to spare at the end of the campaign – but this season has been ever-so different. And that's despite them spending north of £400 million on new players in the summer.
Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz were their two marquee additions over the summer months, but neither player has hit the ground running on the red half of Merseyside. At the time of writing, Liverpool sit fifth in the English top flight and Gerrard has addressed the future of Slot.
Gerrard's 'Brutally Honest' Claim Emerges Amid Liverpool's Poor Form
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According to reports, Anfield higher-ups considered 12 managers before appointing Slot as Jurgen Klopp's successor – including Xabi Alonso, Ruben Amorim and Roberto De Zerbi – but they eventually struck a deal to lure the 47-year-old away from Feyenoord in the summer of 2024.
The aforementioned Gerrard, who played 710 times for the Reds between 1997 and 2015 after graduating from their academy ranks, was not part of the plans, but he was recently asked about whether he harbours ambitions of managing his former side.
Slot's ability to manage a star-studded squad, however, has raised eyebrows after such a fruitful summer and the former Liverpool captain spoke to Scotland striker-turned-pundit Ally McCoist – on TNT Sports' 'Ally's Social Club' – about his former side's tricky start to the 2025/26 campaign.
"I don't want Arne Slot to lose his job. I want him to fix this and turn it around and make Liverpool great. I was bouncing all over the city four or five months ago when Liverpool won the league," Gerrard, who is regarded as one of the best midfielders in Premier League history. Gerrard, after claiming that he believes Slot can turn it around, then made it very clear that he would return to Liverpool in any capacity to guide the reigning champions of England out of their sticky patch.
"I'm a Liverpool fan. I want the best for Liverpool. But if Liverpool need me in any department at any time, I'll be there for them."
Arne Slot
"I'll be brutally, brutally honest with you," the 45-year-old continued. "I'd help Liverpool in any department at any minute of every day. I'd help them with anything."
In response to Gerrard's claim, one said: "As much as I love Gerrard for what he did during his playing career, I can 99.9999999% guarantee that the decision makers at the club are smart enough to never put him in charge of the first team in any capacity."
"Wouldn't mind him being an assistant coach for us honestly. Provide some personal touch to the man management I feel Slot lacks," another added before a third fan wrote: "With all due respect to Stevie it’s mental there are real people who believe replacing Slot with Gerrard until the end of the season is a good idea."
Liverpool's victory over Spurs marked their third triumph in the last five matches – and it also lifted them into fifth position, above the likes of rivals Manchester United and high-flying Sunderland. Next up, Slot's men are set to lock horns with Wolverhampton Wanderers on December 27.
Watch Steven Gerrard's 'brutally honest' claim below:
A Closer Look at Gerrard's Managerial Experience
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Gerrard's admission should not come as a surprise given how much time and effort he dedicated to the Reds during a lengthy career on the red half of Merseyside – and Slot could lean on his managerial experience, which began in the youth ranks of his former side.
Moving north of the border to manage Rangers in the summer of 2018, Gerrard spent just north of three years in Scotland before being appointed manager of Aston Villa in November 2021. At that point, there was a sense of inevitability that he would fulfil the Anfield hotseat at one point in the future, similar to Frank Lampard's managerial stint at Chelsea.
Steven Gerrard – Managerial Career
Club
Al-Ettifaq
Aston Villa
Rangers
A difficult spell at Villa Park was quickly followed by 18-months in charge of Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq, a club he left in January 2025. Now a regular face on the punditry circuit, he's yet to return to management – despite being strongly linked with an emotional return to Rangers – and Slot could soon call on his services.
All statistics per Transfermarkt - correct as of 22/12/2025