Former Liverpool full-back Steve Nicol. Picture: ESPN/ YouTubeplaceholder image
Former Liverpool full-back Steve Nicol. Picture: ESPN/ YouTube | Former Liverpool full-back Steve Nicol. Picture: ESPN/ YouTube
Liverpool had to battle to a 2-1 victory over Wolves in the Premier League.
Former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol has suggested that Arne Slot is among the new school of head coaches are ignoring defensive work in training.
The Reds signed off 2025 with a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, although it was another nervy second-half performance. Liverpool were cruising at half-time after goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz - his first since joining the club - at Anfield.
But Santiago Bueno reduced the arrears for Wolves seven minutes into the second half, exposing the Reds’ weakness at defending corners. It was not comfortable for Liverpool in the closing stages, with the home side having to soak up pressure against the Premier League’s basement side and Conor Bradley making a crucial sliding tackle inside his own box.
And Nicol, who won four English titles and the European Cup with Liverpool, questioned whether coaches want to work on defensive responsibilities in training - highlights it was something that former Arsenal manager George Graham did after every session.
What’s been said
Speaking on ESPN, Nicol said: “You have to wonder, are today's coaches interested in coaching defence? Because there are so many teams that do the same thing. Is it because everything is about little short passes, moving the ball fast, attacking, going forward. The classic George Graham where he used to take the back four out, a couple of midfielders, this guy every day for 10 minutes would work on defence so it came to, when it came to closing out a game or when things are tight, everyone knew what to do. Everyone knew their job and then he'd pull everyone else in.
“Absolutely we did it (work on defensive work in training). No-one does it anymore. It's almost like if it's not going right going forward and the passing is off and we're under a bit of pressure, what do we do? We just keep trying to go forward. I'm sorry, there's a huge part of the game that is not getting coaches today and that is defence.”
‘Not a good day’
Despite Liverpool stretching their unbeaten run to seven games and moving up to fourth in the Premier League table, Shaka Hislop claimed it was ‘not a good day’. Wolves have collected just two points all season, failing to win a game.
The ex-West Ham goalkeeper said: “Special mention, Conor Bradley made a challenge that saved Liverpool two points. You can't have Wolves on the ropes like they did. Wolves were the happiest team of the day to hear the half-time whistle because, had that team kept going, Liverpool would have just kept running up and scoring.
“You get to the break, come back out and this uncertainty of who you are from a Liverpool perspective comes back and haunts you. I find that amazing. A lot to be happy about on the day, [Jeremie] Frimpong was good, I loved seeing [Federico] Chiesa out there. But, again, as soon as you get one punch on the chin, you don't know how to respond. That's coming from one of the worst-ever teams in the Premier League. Not a good day, in my opinion.”
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