Exclusive: “I don’t feel that’s right” – Bolo Zenden says one man at Liverpool ‘deserves respect’ | OneFootball

Boudewijn Zenden has come out strongly in defence of one major figure at Liverpool who he feels ‘deserves respect’ amid considerable external scrutiny of late.

Having romped to Premier League glory in his first year in charge of the Reds, Arne Slot is finding his sophomore season rather more difficult, with his side already beaten six times in the current top-flight campaign and currently languishing in 10th, a full 10 points behind leaders Arsenal.

A dismal 4-1 thrashing at home to PSV Eindhoven a fortnight ago even had Jamie Carragher suggesting that the head coach had one week to save his job, although LFC are unbeaten in four matches since then, most recently pulling off an impressive win away to Inter Milan this week.

Nonetheless, Rio Ferdinand recently seemed to make the case for Steven Gerrard to be considered as a potential interim replacement if Liverpool were to pull the trigger on Slot, but Zenden disagreed with that notion.

Zenden: Slot ‘deserves respect’

Speaking exclusively to Empire of the Kop (via BetVictor), the former Reds winger insisted that talk of the incumbent head coach being replaced is disrespectful, particularly after what he accomplished last season.

The 49-year-old said: “We have to look at two things here. Steven Gerrard is a legend. He’s a massive player. He’s been a manager already on a few occasions and has done particularly well with Rangers, but to talk about a replacement as long as someone’s in the job, I don’t feel that’s right.

“Arne Slot does not deserve that. He deserves respect. People should not talk about this kind of thing while he’s still very much in the job.”

(Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

Slot not immune from scrutiny but still has fans’ firm backing

It’s perfectly fine to be critical of Slot in some aspects this season (e.g. persevering with underperforming players, ill-judged substitutions and team selections, peculiar press conference quotes), but Zenden is right in saying that the head coach still deserves the full respect of every Liverpool fan.

Tactical flaws might be on the 47-year-old, but he can’t be held accountable for baffling individual errors by individuals on the pitch, such as the crazy, game-changing penalty given away by Ibrahima Konate at Leeds last weekend.

Also, the tactician has had to deal with the most arduous challenge that any Premier League boss has faced, namely the tragic death of an existing squad member in Diogo Jota, and he’s handled that horrific situation with the utmost dignity and grace.

Slot isn’t immune from scrutiny and Liverpool’s current top-flight position is nowhere near good enough, but that shouldn’t open the head coach to personal ridicule or a media agenda calling for his sacking.

Thankfully, the Reds supporters who travelled to the San Siro in midweek made it unmistakably clear that they’re still firmly behind the Dutchman and are ready and willing to show him the ‘respect’ for which Zenden has rightly called.

You can watch Slot’s full post-Inter Milan press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: