Arne Slot insists his Liverpool future does not hinge solely on Champions League qualification. Even so, he admits that missing out on Europe’s premier competition would represent a failure to meet the club’s standards.
Arne Slot is well aware of the shadow that looms over the Anfield dugout. It is a long, storied, and often demanding one. But as the pressure mounts following a dismal inconsistent league form, the Dutchman is leaning on the history of his predecessor.
Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat to Manchester City intensified the pressure at Anfield. That loss loosened Liverpool’s grip on the top four. It also left Slot facing a steep climb to salvage a season that has rapidly narrowed in scope. The Reds now travel to Sunderland on Wednesday night with almost zero margin for error.
A season in free-fall
Liverpool’s current league form offers little comfort. Just six wins from their last 20 Premier League matches have seen them slide to sixth in the table. They sit level on points with Brentford and five points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United. Since the start of the year, Arne Slot’s side has secured only one league victory in seven attempts.
With Arsenal and Manchester City dominant at the summit, Champions League qualification has shifted from an expectation to an urgent, unavoidable objective for Arne Slot and Liverpool.
Slot knows the score. He’s been in the game long enough to realise that at Liverpool, the “process” only buys you so much time. Eventually the cold, hard currency of results becomes the only metric that matters. Sunday’s defeat to Pep Guardiola side didn’t just hurt the pride. Instead, it ripped the handbrake off a season that is now turning towards a very uncomfortable conclusion.
Since the start of the year, Slot’s side has secured only one league victory in seven attempts. With six wins in 20 games, the math is becoming as ugly as some of the performances. Slot is adamant that his future isn’t tied to a seat at Europe’s top table. However, he isn’t delusional success is about more than just Champions League football.
“If we don’t have Champions League football, it has definitely not been an acceptable season,” Slot admitted.
It’s a refreshing bit of honesty in an era of PR-managed soundbites. Slot is pointing to the Klopp era as proof that FSG don’t fire the manager every time it becomes bad. Nevertheless, he also knows he doesn’t have a decade of credit in the bank. Clearly, the Dutchman era is judged differently from the Klopp era.
Former manager Jurgen Klopp kept his job after Liverpool finished fifth in 2022/23, a position that is likely to be enough for Champions League qualification this season. The head coach will hope he is shown the same level of trust if this campaign ends without a flourish.
“I don’t decide on my future”
Speculation regarding his position has intensified, with reports suggesting his tenure depends entirely on a top-four finish. When asked if his future in the Anfield dugout rests on qualification, Slot pointed toward the club’s historical patience. He did this by referencing how Arne Slot’s situation compares to the past.
“That is a difficult question for me to answer because I don’t decide on my future. The only thing I do know is that it happened before and recently and it didn’t affect the future of that manager.”
The Premier League may yet receive an additional Champions League spot, making fifth place a viable escape hatch. However, Liverpool must still leapfrog at least one of Aston Villa, Manchester United, or Chelsea. Slot refuses to frame a potential fifth-place finish as a personal triumph for Arne Slot himself.
“That’s a difficult one because if I say yes then I can already see the headlines: ‘Arne Slot thinks he’s had a good season if he’s going to the Champions League’.”
Instead, Slot described the campaign as the toughest of his managerial career. While he acknowledges the external challenges, he refuses to seek sympathy, a standpoint that marks Arne Slot’s resilience at Liverpool.
“It’s important to know what is ‘whatever else’ because if you talk about ‘whatever else’ we could come up with six or seven things. I’m not sure everyone is always aware of all these things. I think you’ve noticed I’m not standing here and coming out with all these excuses.”
Resetting the ceiling
While the 47-year-old avoids rebranding the season as a success, he admits the club’s goals have fundamentally shifted since August.
“The maximum we can achieve right now is qualifying for the Champions League and that’s always what we aim for to achieve the maximum possible at this moment in time. It wasn’t the maximum possible at the start of the season, but at this moment in time it is the maximum we can achieve.”
He offered a blunter assessment when defining an acceptable outcome for a club of Liverpool’s stature.
“If we don’t have Champions League football, it has definitely not been an acceptable season.”
Missing out on elite European revenue twice in three years would significantly impact Liverpool’s “self-sustaining” business model.
Following the signing of 20-year-old centre-back Jeremy Jacquet for £60million, questions remain regarding how much further the club can spend without Champions League prize money.
Slot declined to speculate on a “Plan B” for the summer window.
“I don’t think I am the right person to ask that question because we are positive people over here and we don’t talk about scenarios yet about what happens if we don’t do this. In general, managers, especially at this club… it is not only about results. Mainly, but not only.”
He emphasised that the club’s hierarchy considers player development and specific circumstances when evaluating a head coach.
“At some clubs they also look at the progress the players make, the progress the team makes, the circumstances are sometimes taken into account. What I can say is that in general this club has a certain model that we don’t spend money that we don’t have.”
Ownership backing amid the noise
Despite the slump, the message from Anfield remains clear: Slot is safe. Ownership expects to maintain support through the summer, ignoring external calls for change.
While Slot’s contract runs until 2027, the shadow of Xabi Alonso continues to loom. For now, the club remain reluctant to make a mid-season change unless the situation deteriorates significantly.
The stadium of light showdown
Wednesday’s trip to Sunderland represents a defining moment for Slot’s stewardship. With eight league defeats already and only 39 points from 25 games, the pressure has reached a boiling point.
The path back to Europe’s elite begins at the Stadium of Light. Every tactical decision and result from this point forward will determine whether Slot’s second season is viewed as a transitional struggle or an unacceptable failure.
The only thing that will quiet the noise is a win in the Northeast.