Arne Slot vows to fight on as pressure builds amid Liverpool’s dire form
By Carl Markham, PA
Under-pressure Liverpool head coach Arne Slot pledged to fight on in the wake of the club’s worst run in over 70 years and expects his players to do the same.
The 4-1 Champions League defeat to PSV Eindhoven was the club’s ninth loss in 12 matches, something which has not happened since the 1953-54 season.
It has put Slot under huge pressure with his team 12th in the Premier League and 13th in Europe but the Dutchman, trying to remain level-headed amid the furore which is threatening to engulf him, remains defiant.
“In the end it is about doing what this club is about, keep fighting and no matter how difficult it is we have to fight together,” said Slot, who admitted his night’s sleep was “not the best”.
“There is a lot of pressure if you play or work at a top club and even more so if you start losing more games than this club or these players or this manager is used to.
“But there was pressure last season for us to win the league and now it’s a different kind of pressure because we have lost so many games.
“We get knock after knock after knock, which is hard, but that is why I keep saying especially when that happens we have to keep fighting.
“That is what we have done so well last season and what this club has been about for so many years. That is what we expect.
“The minimum I and we expect is we do it over 90 minutes, which is not always easy if you get knock, after knock, after knock.”
After Wednesday’s defeat Slot remained confident about his position as he had the support of the club’s hierarchy and he stressed that had not changed.
“We have had the same conversations since I was here,” he added.
“We try to improve – that’s what we all try – but the conversations have been the same as they have been for the last one-and-a-half-years.”
Fitness update: Alisson Becker, Hugo Ekitike, Joe Gomez and Florian Wirtz ⤵️
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 27, 2025
Asked whether he was angry or disappointed with his players, the Dutchman said: “No, not at all.
“Although I do agree that our standards – and I mean the team – have not been of the standards we are used to what we want so we think we can play better than we do.
“But last season when we did really well there was a focus on certain individuals and I said it should be about the team as the team make those individuals look very good and if the opposite is happening we should also look at the team and not the individuals.”
Goalkeeper Alisson Becker is set to return at West Ham on Sunday after illness forced him out in midweek and, while £100million playmaker Florian Wirtz could be involved after finishing his recovery from a muscle problem, striker Hugo Ekitike is doubtful after a back spasm.
