‘Really would prefer…’ – Journalist outlines Liverpool’s stance on sacking Arne Slot mid-season
Arne Slot is highly unlikely to be removed from his position as Liverpool head coach before the end of the season, but his long-term fate at Anfield is far from secure.
That’s according to David Lynch, who’s been discussing the immediate future of the 47-year-old after the Reds’ dismal campaign hit another bum note in drawing 1-1 at home to Burnley on Saturday.
Fan footage even captured a heated touchline exchange with Curtis Jones, and Jermaine Pennant has claimed that Real Madrid’s recent sacking of Xabi Alonso will have further amplified the pressure on the Dutchman.
Liverpool unlikely to jettison Slot mid-season
Speaking to Anfield Index, Lynch indicated that Liverpool are hugely reluctant to pull the trigger on Slot during the season, but could plausibly do so in the summer if the team’s fortunes don’t improve significantly.
The journalist said: “They clearly, clearly want to get to the end of the season with Slot if they can. They don’t want to make a mid-season managerial change because who do you get as the interim? It would clearly be better to make the managerial change in the summer.
“I think his future’s already set, to be honest. It’s been so pronounced, the decline, for such a long time. It is only a case of getting to the summer, albeit if he starts to lose six, seven on the bounce again, he will get bulleted because they’ll feel forced to go for an interim. They don’t want to change; they really would prefer not to.
“Then it’s kind of go for a manager then in the summer. People are talking about ‘go and get Xabi Alonso’, but he’s not gonna want to walk into a job now, so it’d have to be an interim, and I don’t think there’s a great deal out there.”
Should Slot get the remainder of this season at least?
Despite seeing Manchester United and Chelsea make managerial changes this month, Liverpool are unlikely to follow suit unless results were to truly deteriorate under Slot to the point that the atmosphere at Anfield becomes untenably toxic.
FSG are among the least impetuous ownerships in the Premier League, and banking on an interim boss to secure Champions League qualification would be a significant gamble, even if the status quo isn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows.
If the Dutchman were to be dismissed in the coming months, Alonso would seem the obvious name to appoint, given his association with the club and his unemployed status. As Lynch points out, though, our former midfielder mightn’t be prepared to jump straight back into a highly pressurised position just yet.
In our view, Slot ought to be given at least the remainder of this campaign to try and finish in the top four and ensure that we have Champions League football again for 2026/27. Should he deliver, there’d be a somewhat solid platform from which to build for next season.
However, if he fails in that mission, we wouldn’t be surprised if FSG then felt compelled to act. To say that there’s a lot riding on the next four months for the head coach and for Liverpool Football Club would be an understatement.
You can watch Slot’s full post-Burnley press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:
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