Arne Slot breaks silence on Liverpool sack ‘ultimatum’ | Football | Sport
Arne Slot has faced questions about his future. (Image: Getty Images)
Arne Slot has insisted his future at Liverpool won’t hinge purely on Champions League qualification, despite conceding the campaign will only prove “acceptable” if the Reds secure their return to Europe’s premier competition. Following Sunday’s damaging 2-1 home loss to Manchester City, Liverpool’s grip on a top-four spot has loosened considerably, leaving them facing an uphill battle to guarantee their place amongst the continent’s elite.
The Merseysiders have managed just six victories from their previous 20 Premier League matches, and travel to Sunderland on Wednesday having secured only a solitary win from seven league fixtures since the new year began. Under Jurgen Klopp, Slot’s predecessor, the club twice failed to qualify for the Champions League during his nine-year reign, though on both occasions the club bounced back immediately the following season.
With fifth position potentially proving sufficient for qualification, as England appear set to claim an additional spot this season, Liverpool must overhaul at least one of Aston Villa, Manchester United or Chelsea to reach their objective.
When pressed on whether Champions League qualification was intrinsically tied to his tenure in the Anfield dugout, as has been reported this week, Slot highlighted the club’s recent past and acknowledged the numerous mitigating circumstances behind the champions’ underwhelming title defence.
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“That is a difficult question for me to answer because I don’t decide on my future,” he said. “The only thing I do know is that it happened before and recently and it didn’t affect the future of that manager.
“But that doesn’t guarantee anything, of course. In general, managers, especially at this club – maybe somewhere else – it is not only about results. Mainly, but not only.
“At some clubs they also look at the progress the players make, the progress the team makes, the circumstances are sometimes taken into account.
“That is not at all clubs, but I think I am working at a club that does look at those things, as it has shown in the past when the club did not qualify for the Champions League.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Slot had been forthright in his assessment, stating: “If we don’t have Champions League football, it has definitely not been an acceptable season.”
Arne Slot has fired back at suggestions he could be sacked. (Image: Getty Images)
Yet the Liverpool boss has been reluctant to label Champions League qualification from the Reds’ current standing as among his finest accomplishments, given the numerous challenges both on and off the pitch he’s navigated over the last nine months.
Addressing the question with characteristic caution, he explained: “That’s a difficult one because if I say yes then I can already see the headlines: ‘Arne Slot thinks he’s had a good season if he’s going to the Champions League’.
“It’s important to know what is ‘whatever else’ (that has happened) because if you talk about ‘whatever else’ we could come up with six or seven things. I’m not sure everyone is always aware of all these things.
“I think you’ve noticed I’m not standing here and coming out with all these excuses. But the maximum we can achieve right now is qualifying for the Champions League and that’s always what we aim for – to achieve the maximum possible at this moment in time.
“It wasn’t the maximum possible at the start of the season, but at this moment of time it is the maximum we can achieve.”
Following Liverpool’s previous campaign without Champions League football in 2023/24, their summer recruitment consisted solely of Federico Chiesa, despite an unsuccessful attempt to bring Martin Zubimendi to Anfield after meeting Real Sociedad’s £51million asking price.
When questioned whether missing out on Champions League qualification again might affect the club’s summer transfer strategy – despite already securing 20-year-old centre-back Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes for £60million – Slot responded: “I don’t think I am the right person to ask that question because we are positive people over here and we don’t talk about scenarios yet about what happens if we don’t do this, we don’t do this, we don’t do this.
“So these conversations have maybe taken place but not with me involved, so I cannot give you that answer on how much that would impact our summer.
“What I can say is that in general this club has a certain model that we don’t spend money that we don’t have.”
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