Liverpool head coach Arne Slot said his team would fight to emerge from the club’s worst run of results for 71 years and refused to point the finger at individuals for the current malaise.
Reigning English Premier League champions Liverpool go to West Ham United tomorrow having lost nine of their past 12 games in all competitions and with the defense of their title in ruins.
Dutchman Slot admitted he did not sleep very well after the 4-1 home defeat by PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, but has vowed to turn things around.
Photo: Reuters
“Our standards, by that I mean the team, have not been of the standards that we are used to and that we want,” Slot told reporters on Thursday. “Last season when we did really well, there was a lot of focus on certain individuals and I always said it should be about the team, and the team makes the individuals look very good. If the opposite is happening, we should also look at the team and the individuals. That’s where it’s about for me.”
Liverpool’s slump has led to questions about his future, but Slot says the conversations with the club’s owners are the same as they have been since he arrived 18 months ago.
“You try to find the answer to what is needed to win a game of football, and yeah, in the end, it’s about doing what this club is about, is keep fighting,” he said. “No matter how difficult it is, we have to fight together. There’s always pressure, but there was a lot of pressure last season as well for us to win the league. Now it’s a different kind of pressure because we’ve lost so many games, more than I, or a club like this, is used to.”
Liverpool could be 14th in the table by the time they kickoff at West Ham and they will be desperate to steady the ship with three points.
West Ham have improved markedly under Nuno Espirito Santo to move out of the relegation zone and Slot is expecting a tough game at the London Stadium.
“We definitely need to be ready for a challenge because that’s what they will give us,” Slot said. “Because they know, of course, after our recent run of results that it’s probably different for them to play against us now than it was three or four months ago.”
Slot said that goalkeeper Alisson is available after missing the defeat against PSV, while Florian Wirtz could train with the first team today and could also be in contention.
Slot is also hopeful Hugo Ekitike would be available after coming off against PSV with a back issue.
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