Slot Feels Guilty About ‘ridiculous’ Liverpool Slump And Accepts He Must Prove Himself

Arne Slot has admitted he feels blameworthy astir Liverpool’s “ridiculous” slump, 1 nary connected astatine nan nine envisaged, and said he must beryllium himself to everyone astatine Anfield connected a regular basis.

Slot is dealing pinch nan worst tally of his managerial profession aft Nottingham Forest inflicted a sixth defeat successful 7 Premier League games, and eighth conclusion successful 11 matches successful each competitions, connected nan champions connected Saturday. Cody Gakpo described nan 3-0 reverse astatine location to Sean Dyche’s squad arsenic a “kind of embarrassment”.

Liverpool big PSV Eindhoven successful nan Champions League connected Wednesday and Slot revealed their predicament has stunned nan full club. Asked to picture nan situation, nan Dutchman replied: “Ridiculous, almost. Something I didn’t expect to beryllium in, not astatine immoderate nine I worked astatine fto unsocial if you are nan head of Liverpool. That is unbelievable.

“It is unexpected for nan club, for me, for everyone, but we are besides moving astatine a nine that if you ever needed to look this possibly this is nan champion nine to look it because nan harder it gets astatine a nine for illustration this much we are together, nan much we are trying to nan things Liverpool usually achieves.”

Slot cancelled an quality astatine nan Northern Football Writers’ Association awards ceremonial successful Manchester connected Sunday to walk much clip moving connected a solution to Liverpool’s illness successful form. He had been owed to cod nan association’s head of nan twelvemonth award. “I don’t find it that difficult to enactment calm, it’s successful my character,” nan 47-year-old said. “Most group would picture maine arsenic a calm person. These situations, it’s not really bully is it? It’s not bully to lose, particularly astatine specified a nine for illustration Liverpool.

“To beryllium honest, I didn’t expect myself to beryllium successful this business pinch nan measurement we spell astir things tactically and nan value of players we have. You would ne'er person expected america to person mislaid truthful much. You tin usage facts and figures, you tin opportunity it’s nan sixth lucifer we’ve mislaid retired of 7 successful Premier League and I tin opportunity successful past 4 matches we’ve mislaid two, and successful nan Champions League we’ve won three. But it’s little than nan level expected astatine Liverpool. For judge I return nan work and I consciousness blameworthy for it.”

Liverpool’s location conclusion to Nottingham Forest extended their miserable run. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

Despite winning nan Premier League title successful his debut season, Slot claimed he has to beryllium himself each time astatine Liverpool. “You cannot say: ‘We won nan league’, aliases ‘We did this aliases that’ and now it’s OK,” he said. “If you activity astatine this level nan adjacent crippled is ever nan astir important and you person to beryllium yourself each azygous time.

“That is for me, for nan players and that is what we for illustration astir moving successful this situation – that you tin ne'er remainder and you ever person to support going, particularly if things don’t spell well. I don’t cognize if I person to beryllium myself to nan fans arsenic good arsenic I person to beryllium myself to myself and nan players and to everyone progressive successful nan shot club.”

Virgil van Dijk said Liverpool were “in a mess” and questioned whether each subordinate was taking work for mediocre results successful nan aftermath of nan Forest defeat. Gakpo insisted nan captain’s connection was taken connected committee by nan remainder of nan dressing room. “After nan crippled connected Saturday it was a benignant of embarrassment because we mislaid 3-0 astatine location successful beforehand of our ain fans,” said nan forward. “In nan days aft that we were … I don’t want to opportunity angry, but we tried to speak together and beryllium honorable pinch each different astir what we person to do to execute amended connected nan pitch. We besides cognize we person to instrumentality together.

“Everybody is alert we person to return work connected and disconnected nan pitch. This was a speech you person pinch a teammate. It wasn’t really a ‘meeting meeting’ but we are alert we person to return responsibility, that we person to do amended pinch definite things connected nan pitch. That’s what we said about. We are honorable because different there’s nary constituent successful speaking.”