Manager Arne Slott has vowed that Liverpool will “keep fighting” despite enduring the club’s worst run of form for 71 years, and admitted he is considering changes ahead of Sunday’s game against West Ham.
The Premier League champions suffered a heartbreaking 4-1 defeat to PSV at Anfield in the Champions League on Wednesday, their ninth defeat in 12 games and their worst run since 1954.
Liverpool will also face West Ham live on Sky Sports on Sunday, with pressure mounting on the manager after losing three consecutive games by three points or more for the first time since December 1953.
West Ham vs Liverpool will be broadcast live on Sky Sports this Sunday
But reports suggest Liverpool bosses’ plans are to stay with Slott after he led the club to the Premier League title in his first season in charge.
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Asked if he had spoken to his Liverpool bosses about his future, Slott replied: “We’ve had similar conversations since I’ve been here. We’ll keep fighting. We’ll try to improve.”
“We try to find the answer to what it takes to win football matches, but ultimately it’s about achieving the objectives of this club. We have to keep fighting, we have to fight together.”
“But it would be nice to be able to reward ourselves the moment we play well. People rightly focus on the areas where we haven’t played well.
“Small mistakes can quickly lead to goals. It’s a very bad cocktail.”
Much of the attention on Liverpool’s players has focused on the declining form of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, with both players below their season best. Van Dijk’s fellow centre-back Ibrahima Konate has also provided very little help to his defensive partner with a very erratic performance.
Slott admitted some fringe players such as Joe Gomez and Wataru Endo could be considered for Sunday’s trip to West Ham.
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“They train with us every day and they can prove themselves in that moment. There’s always a balance where if you don’t change, people think you should change more. There was a period this season where we lost and I made some changes and people complained.”
“We are looking into it, but we won’t be able to share the final outcome of that review on Sunday…yet.”
Alisson expected to return, Wirtz likely to train on Saturday.
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson is expected to return for Sunday’s game against West Ham.
Alisson started Saturday’s game against Nottingham Forest after nearly two months out due to injury, but was forced to leave Wednesday’s game against PSV due to illness.
Slott said Alisson trained with his team-mates on Thursday and is expected to return to goal for the Premier League trip to West Ham.
Hugo Ekitike was forced off with an injury in the loss to PSV, and although Slott says he won’t be a big problem, it is unclear whether the forward will be fit for Sunday’s match.
Slott added that Florian Wirtz, who missed the past two games due to injury, could return to training on Saturday ahead of his final day of rehabilitation on Friday.
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Tottenham manager Thomas Frank believes Slott will help Liverpool recover from their slump “1,000 per cent”.
He said: “Arne is obviously an incredible leader and what he did at Feyenoord and how he found his way to Liverpool is unbelievable.
“He’s 1,000 percent sure he’ll find a way to get out of there.
“I don’t know him personally, but he remains calm and he and his coaching staff will find a solution and get back into the team.”
