Gary Neville has urged Liverpool supporters to “forget” any speculation linking Arne Slot with the sack despite the club’s alarming dip in form.
The Reds opened the season in perfect fashion with five straight wins, but now find themselves 11th in the Premier League table and 11 points behind leaders Arsenal.
Even during that early winning streak, Liverpool were far from convincing.
A 2-0 lead against Bournemouth evaporated in just over 10 minutes before they eventually ground out a victory, while injury-time goals were needed to rescue wins over Newcastle and Burnley.
Their late 1-0 triumph against Arsenal remains the only clean sheet in that run.
For Slot, the key positive was that his side were still consistently collecting three points, something that has deserted them in recent weeks.
Liverpool have managed just one win in their last seven league outings and have suffered back-to-back 3-0 defeats.
With the team well below expectations, rumours have started circulating online about Slot’s job security.
However, former Manchester United defender and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville insists there is no imminent danger of the Liverpool boss losing his job.
He said on The Gary Neville Podcast: “There’s no way that Arne Slot should be in danger or losing his job. I’ve heard murmurs; you go on social media and all that nonsense, forget that.
“Some Liverpool fans will say, ‘Don’t talk about my football club like that’, but come on, let’s have some sense here. This is a really good manager, who’s a brilliant front man for the club as well in the way he handles himself. He’s got real class.
“For me, he’s having a really bad time. I think he’s got to somehow reverse back down the road quite quickly and do something different, intervene and sort out what he thinks might be some really difficult decisions staring him in the face, maybe give the players a little bit of help with the make-up of the teams he is picking.
“I love the style of play, by the way. I love it when they go punch for punch, but when you’re going punch for punch with teams and you’re not coming out on top, you do have to change that. You do have to do something different. I think the players will be expecting that of him, never mind the media and the fans.
“For Arne Slot, I think it’s a real challenging moment. He’s going to come under pressure, people are going to start saying the fatal words of, ‘Is he in trouble?’ But let’s not get too carried away with that. He’s just signed £450million worth of players and he’s got to try and settle them in.
“Those players who have come into the club have got to step up and prove they can deliver, and the players who have been there a long time — the leaders, captains and experienced players — have to provide stability in the dressing room so the new players don’t feel like they’re taking all the pressure themselves.”
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