Liverpool: Pearce reveals Slot sack ‘reality’ after FSG decision; Dutchman ‘tells friends’ his axe response | OneFootball

According to reports, Liverpool are still backing head coach Arne Slot, though a new report has revealed how this could change.

With Liverpool‘s performances falling off a cliff this season, Slot has been under pressure for most of this campaign.

Slot was lauded as a messiah after helping Liverpool win their 20th Premier League title last season, but the Reds have weakly defended their crown as they are in a battle to qualify for the Champions League.

Liverpool also face an uphill battle in the Champions League and FA Cup, having been drawn to face Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City in the next round of each competition.

Several mitigating factors have contributed to Liverpool’s struggles this season, but Slot is certainly partly to blame for their issues and he has gradually lost fan support this term.

Some supporters have grown tired of Slot’s dull tactics, with the Dutchman not helped by the availability of club legend Xabi Alonso.

Despite this, it has been widely reported that Slot retains backing, with it claimed that club chiefs are keen to keep him.

A new report from journalist James Pearce, a Liverpool reporter for The Athletic, claims ‘decision-makers still retain faith in him and believe, with the right additions this summer, Slot can turn things around in the same way that Klopp did’.

However, it is also noted that FSG’s stance could change.

The report adds: ‘FSG intends to stick to the plan but the reality is that resolve will be tested by what happens on the field in the coming weeks.

‘If Liverpool kick on, the debate over Slot’s future will ease. If they wilt and Anfield turns mutinous, there will be a clamour for change that will be hard to ignore.’

Joyce revealed: ‘Slot is not known to doubt himself, and he has told friends that he will turn it round.

‘He continues to be hands-on on the training pitch, along with his assistant Sipke Hulshoff, and will have spent time poring obsessively over every perceived mistake.’

Despite this, club legend Steven Gerrard feels Arne Slot may be too far gone at Liverpool already.

“I hear really good things about him as a coach – his style, his tactics, the details,” Gerrard said.

“But as a Liverpool fan now and as an ex-player who knows what it’s like from the inside, these Liverpool fans, once they’ve got to this stage it’s very difficult to get them back around.”