Slot ‘badly let down’ by three Liverpool players with ‘toxic’ relationship set to lead to sack | OneFootball

Fenway Sports Group have ‘accepted’ that Liverpool head coach Arne Slot may have to be sacked in the summer, according to reports.

The Reds have been in poor form this season in the Premier League with Slot’s side currently fifth, and 21 points behind leaders Arsenal, after Liverpool won the title last campaign.

FSG backed Slot over the summer as they spent over £400m on new players, including Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, but the Liverpool head coach has failed to get the best from his players this summer.

There are now claims that Liverpool are prepared to replace Slot in the summer unless they see some encouragement before the end of the season, while there are also rumours the Dutchman could resign instead.

A report from Football Insider now insists that FSG are beginning to ‘accept’ that the Liverpool fans’ relationship with Slot may never heal after their poor season.

Football Insider wrote: ‘Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group have accepted that they may have to sack manager Arne Slot this summer amid a “disconnect” with the fans.

‘There are fears among the hierarchy at Anfield that the atmosphere among the supporters is leaning towards becoming “toxic,” and there is an acceptance that sections of the support have turned against the Dutchman for good.

‘The club hierarchy are determined to avoid the feeling around the club worsening any further, and as a result, they are prepared to sack Slot at the end of the season if it is clear that there is no way back for him.’

And former Man Utd chief scout Mick Brown reckons Liverpool, who lost 4-0 to Manchester City in the FA Cup over the weekend, have thrown Slot under the bus this season, while three players have let the Dutchman down.

Brown told Football Insider: “Slot has been thrown under the bus at Liverpool.

“Look through the squad, how many of them can you say have really performed to their top level? But it’s the manager who picks up the bill for it.

“He’s been badly let down by a number of his senior players.

“Van Dijk has got a brilliant reputation which has been well-earned, but he hasn’t performed anywhere close to his usual standard this season.

“Salah as well, we’ve spoken about him a number of times and the fact he’s dropped off.

“Then looking through the team, you’ve got players like Ibrahima Konate for example who again has been nowhere near the level required of him.

“So all of these things start to add up, but eventually it’s the manager who has to deal with it when results aren’t going their way.

“If Slot does get sacked by Liverpool, the players are just as much to blame as anything else.”

But Liverpool star Wirtz insists the players are still behind the manager, the Germany international told The Athletic: “Yes, of course, we are believing in the manager. The team should believe in the manager because they won the league last season. We’ve also had a lot of good games this season, but we wanted it to be better.

“We still have things to play for. We are still in the Champions League and we want qualification for the Champions League next season, so we still have some goals we want to achieve. We wanted it to be better, but there’s still something to play for.”