Lewis Steele: Reijnen likely comes and a fresh voice might help Liverpool | OneFootball

Slot, Assistant Search and Reijnen Question Dominate Media Matters Debate

Slot under scrutiny

On Media Matters for Anfield Index, Dave Davis and Lewis Steele picked through a Liverpool picture that sounded heavy with doubt. Davis framed the mood by saying, “They kind of linger, these defeats, don’t they?” and added that “there’s just not too much happiness to be found right now.”

Steele’s answer to the wider Slot debate was blunt. When discussing criticism of the manager and the tactical direction, he said one argument from a supporter “basically just completely undermines the role of the manager and the tactics”. His point was clear, the coach matters because, as he put it, managers “are the most important people at the football club”.

On Slot, Steele did not soften the concern. “If people want to defend Slot, then that’s completely fine,” he said, before adding that “some of the rationale behind it is just a bit, all over the place.” Davis then raised the line that there was “zero evidence” to believe next season would improve, and Steele agreed with the substance of that concern.

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Reijnen and coaching refresh

The most intriguing Assistant thread came when Davis raised Etienne Reijnen. “The name Etienne Reijnen won’t go away if I’m pronouncing it right,” Davis said, before noting that Slot “didn’t shut it down” and had said “one had left in our coaching team, so one might have to come in.”

Steele replied: “Yeah, it sounds like Etienne Reijnen, or whatever his name is, is going to be coming to Liverpool, or at least he’s going to be allowed to make the decision to come to Liverpool.” He added: “We know that he wasn’t able to back in 2024.”

There was caution too. “I don’t know much about him other than the conversations I have had about him,” Steele admitted. “People say he’s very good, but then I could get anyone to say that anyone’s very good.”

Coaching staff needs new faces

Steele linked the Reijnen and Assistant discussion to a wider need for movement inside the building. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Van Bronckhorst does end up at Feyenoord,” he said, before asking whether that “still leaves a hole in Liverpool’s coaching set-up, because Briggs left.”

His verdict was pointed: “Everyone in the building could benefit with a couple of new faces.” The reason, in Steele’s words, was that “they’re not learning from mistakes” and “everything’s gone a bit stale this season.” He added: “I think a coaching shake-up can help a team more than maybe people think.”

Summer answers needed

By the end, Steele returned to uncertainty. “There’s loads of questions to answer,” he told Davis. “We think that Slot’s going to be the manager, but we don’t really know. No one’s ever said that for definite.”

For Liverpool, the Reijnen question now sits within a broader Slot conversation. If an Assistant arrives, Steele’s view was simple enough: “That can only be a good thing, surely.”