Liverpool: Danny Murphy sets Arne Slot one ‘realistic’ target to ‘keep’ his job beyond this season | OneFootball

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy has revealed what he thinks head coach Arne Slot “really needs” to save his job beyond this season.

Slot has been under pressure for much of this campaign as Liverpool’s form and performances have fallen off a cliff since they won their 20th Premier League title at the end of last season.

Several mitigating factors have contributed to Liverpool‘s decline, but Slot certainly bears some of the blame.

The Dutchman has quickly lost fan support for implementing a risk-averse style of play, which has been incredibly turgid to watch and also ineffective.

Liverpool exited the title race in the early months of this season and are also at risk of missing out on the top four, but they are still in the Champions League and FA Cup.

Speaking after Liverpool’s 3-1 win against Wolves in the FA Cup on Friday night, Murphy insisted Slot could still “do something special” in the Champions League this season.

“Slot’s still got a wonderful opportunity to do something special,” Murphy said BBC One.

“I know it’s unlikely with the way they’re playing because they’re so inconsistent.

“He’s got to stay positive and try cutting out the noise. There’s a lot of questioning of him from fans and journalists – he’s got to keep calm.

“But after the next six to eight weeks we’ll know where we’re at with Liverpool.”

Murphy also noted that the FA Cup is a more “realistic competition” for Liverpool and Slot “really needs something positive” to “keep him in a job”.

“Two out of the five new signings have done well. Of the players who were there last season, only one or maybe two have played to the level. It’s just not enough,” Murphy added.

“All these factors have transpired together for this fall away that nobody anticipated. All you can do is try to rebuild and fight back and have some success by winning one of the cups.

“The Champions League is going to be more difficult, this is a realistic competition for Liverpool to win.

“When you’re at the top, even if you have a bad season, for Liverpool you’re expected to win something.

“For Slot, he is really needing something positive to end this season to – I think – keep him in a job.”

After the win over Wolves, captain Virgil van Dijk said: “The FA Cup is very important to us – like always, but especially this season. Hopefully we can keep going.

“To get silverware is always our aim. I’ve been very privileged to experience so many good nights winning silverware with this beautiful club and that’s all we aim for.”