Arne Slot insists Liverpool’s transition is not an excuse for failure | OneFootball

Arne Slot believes a lot should be expected of Liverpool next season, even with a turnover of players, as he said that being in transition is not an excuse for failure.

Liverpool are yet to qualify for the Champions League this season as, despite being defending champions and spending £450m in the summer, they are only fifth with a game to go.

And there will be further upheaval with Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson definitely going and doubts surrounding the future of players like Alisson, Joe Gomez and Curtis Jones.

But Slot is adamant they cannot use that as a reason not to compete for honours.

Arne Slot is not accepting that Liverpool’s period of transition can be used as an excuse for their underperformance (PA Wire)

He said: “When I say we are in a transition I don’t mean to not expect anything from us. I hope nobody feels that. I was expecting, just as you all here, that we were more able to compete for things than we were this season.

“Although we lost in the FA Cup to the team that won the FA Cup [Manchester City] and we lost in the Champions League to a team that not one team could beat over two legs [Paris Saint-Germain].

“Then of course there was the Premier League where we had no chance to win it, that was clear after 10 or 15 games. It is not saying, ‘Oh, don’t expect anything from this team’. Definitely not. This team has showed that we were able already to be at a certain level and we can only evolve this team.”

Slot draws heart from Liverpool’s progress under his predecessor Jurgen Klopp to argue this side will be superior next year with a couple of signings.

He added: “I think Jurgen's best team that was competing for every single trophy at that time took a few years to bring together as well. And we have made very good steps in terms of signings last summer and these players will evolve with the ones we already had and if we can add one or two then, I think, we as a group will look much better next year."

Slot is also eager to appoint his former Feyenoord coach Etienne Reijnen to his backroom staff.

He said: “It is fair to say that I have worked with him before. And I have a very high regard for him in terms of the coach he is. It is also clear that I tried to sign him two years ago when I first came here but we couldn’t do it.”