Arne Slot has vowed to “fight on” with the backing of the Liverpool hierarchy despite a dismal run of form that has prompted increasing scrutiny over his role as head coach. The Reds suffered their joint-heaviest home defeat in European competition when they were humiliated 4-1 by PSV Eindhoven in their latest Champions League clash on Wednesday evening.
It was a ninth loss in 12 games for Liverpool in all competitions, their worst such run since the 1953/54 season during which they were relegated from the top flight.
The final whistle was greeted with a smattering of boos with the pressure further increasing on the beleaguered boss.
But Slot struck a defiant tone when addressing the media on Thursday afternoon ahead of Sunday’s clash at West Ham United.
Asked whether he has spoken to sporting director Richard Hughes or the Liverpool ownership since Wednesday night, Slot said: “Yes, we have had the same conversations since I was here.
“I am not sure if I said last night but we fight on, we try to improve – that’s what we all try – but the conversations have been the same as they have been for the last one-and-a-years.”
Slot added: “There is a lot of pressure if you play or work at a top club and even more so if you start losing more games than this club or these players or this manager is used to. Then there is always pressure.
“But there was pressure last season for us to win the league and now it’s a different kind of pressure because we have lost so many games. What it does to me is I can just do the same but I don’t have to play, so maybe my job is a bit easier when it comes to this.
“We have to keep fighting. That is what we have done so well last season and what this club has been about for so many years. That is what we expect. The minimum I and we expect is we do it over 90 minutes, which is not always easy if you get knock after knock after knock.”
Slot – who revealed he had “not the best” sleep in the wake of the PSV defeat – also addressed the emotional comments of Curtis Jones afterwards, who stated that Liverpool’s players have to be “a dog out there” and “smash someone”.
“Really good if you bring it to the game and this is what the players at least tried to do yesterday,” said the Reds boss.
“If we can bring this as a team to the game it is the minimum I expect and the minimum fans expect from us, that we fight. I use the word fight, he probably uses other words, but I think we are on the same page when it comes to getting out of the situation.”
And asked if he was angry with his underperforming players, Slot added: “No, not at all. Although I do agree that our standards – and I mean the team – have not been of the standards we are used to what we want so we think we can play better than we do.
“But last season when we did really well there was a focus on certain individuals and I said it should be about the team as the team make those individuals look very good and if the opposite is happening we should also look at the team and not the individuals.”