Liverpool boss Arne Slot may have just leaked FSG’s stance on sacking him | Football | Sport

Arne Slot appears to have teased that Fenway Sports Group have no plans to sack him as Liverpool manager any time soon. The Reds have won just five of their last 18 Premier League matches after a miserable 95th-minute defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday night. The reigning champions are winless in the league in 2026 despite facing three teams down the lower end of the table – Leeds, Burnley and Bournemouth – with two of those matches at Anfield.

Despite Liverpool performing better in the Champions League where they are in a position to finish inside the top eight, the fanbase are losing faith in Slot. The Merseyside giants are in a real fight to qualify for next season’s Champions League and are a shadow of the side that won the league 12 months ago. Yet Slot’s words from this week appear to suggest his superiors, including club owners FSG, do not intend to remove him from his position at least before the end of the season.

Speaking to TNT before the midweek win at Marseille, Slot said: “Everyone at the club, me, ownership, sports directors, we know what it takes to make the next step in this transition phase. But sometimes a little bit of patience is needed in that as well.”

Those comments indicate that the club’s hierarchy accept they have not given Slot the tools he needs to compete this season. The Reds have been hurt by injuries which have limited the Dutchman’s ability to rotate and he is also lacking certain player profiles, such as direct one-vs-one wingers.

Yet strangely, Liverpool have shown no indication to utilise the January transfer window. They did not challenge Manchester City for either Antoine Semenyo or Marc Guehi despite having been interested in both players before this month.

Joe Gomez’s injury against Bournemouth leaves Virgil van Dijk as the only centre-back confirmed to be fit for the midweek European match against Qarabag. Ibrahima Konate is currently unavailable while he grieves the tragic death of his father.

Slot made clear he felt forced into certain decisions with his team at Bournemouth due to injuries. He explained: “That’s why I have to credit my players; if you go 2-0 down the way we did, again we showed mentality and fitness to come back into the game against one of the fittest teams in the league – and they only have to play once a week and, of course, that helps.

“That is not an excuse because a club like Liverpool is used to playing three times a week but we mainly do this with the same players and maybe last season that was a bit different. Last season we did not have three long-term injuries as we have now.

As you could see in our line-up, I decided not to play Hugo [Ekitike]. That was not because I didn’t like him or he wasn’t good against Marseille, it was simply because I only have one No.9 available for the upcoming weeks and months.

“He was out two weeks ago and with so many games to play, you have to manage his minutes. I think for Jeremie Frimpong, it’s safe to say the same. In the first half he was getting things and after half-time I think I could see the energy running out of him a little bit as well.

“So the end result is you then play two players not in their favourite position with Wata [Endo] and Dom. By the way, they did well, but it is the reality of this moment.”

He added on Milos Kerkez, who came off at half-time for Andy Robertson who next week could join Tottenham: “No, there was not an injury and I wouldn’t say it was tactical. It was obvious already before the game that it was not smart to play him another 90. There is a lot to be said about the players I constantly play and I have to keep them fit, I have to manage their load.

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“It was yesterday when the performance staff came to me and said if we would have had an extra day he wouldn’t have trained yesterday to recover a little bit more. So then you are always in a certain risk zone and I already had to make a substitution in the first half.

“So that means if you leave him on and you take him out at 60 minutes, your second substitution is left. So that is why I decided to take him off at half-time because it was always the intention to take him off somewhere in the second half. I did it now a little bit earlier.”

But despite recent performances and results, it appears unlikely Slot will be sacked any time soon. That’s despite the availability of club legend Xabi Alonso, who is a free agent after his dismissal at Real Madrid. Alonso was considered an option to replace Jurgen Klopp before Slot was appointed.