Arne Slot insists there are ‘no guarantees’ his job would be safe if Liverpool fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League – but he hopes he is not judged solely on results this season.
The Reds boss is under pressure after the last-minute defeat by Manchester City on Sunday left them adrift of Manchester United and Chelsea in the race for the top five which is likely to get Champions League football. (can’t say how many points as it will change based on their results later).
And ahead of a tricky trip to Sunderland, who are unbeaten at home in the league since their promotion, Slot hopes that other factors – such as performances, progress of players due to his coaching and injuries – are taken into account when discussing his future at the club.
‘That is again a difficult question for me to answer because I do not decide my future,’ said Slot when asked about whether Champions League qualification will have an impact on that.
‘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.’
Slot was referring to how Jurgen Klopp‘s job was safe despite Liverpool finishing fifth in 2022-23 and having to compete in the Europa League the following year.
Liverpool’s Arne Slot has admitted there is no guarantee over his Liverpool future is the Reds fail to qualify for the Champions League
‘In general, managers especially at this club (are judged not just on league finishes),’ added Slot. ‘Maybe somewhere else it is not only about results but mainly but not only.
‘And 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, Slot had said that it would be ‘unacceptable’ to not finish in the top five and that his team would need to be ‘close to perfection’ to do so given the gap to those above.
Given England is top of UEFA’s rather confusing coefficient ranking, it would take a complete catastrophe from teams in European knockouts this season to see the Premier League not be given an extra place in next season’s competition.
It means the top five will almost certainly get Champions League, as was the case last season with nine English clubs in European competition (Tottenham qualified via winning the Europa League).
But Slot is taking no chances and said: ‘If we don’t have Champions League football, it’s definitely not an acceptable season.
‘Close to perfection is needed because of the points we are behind. It’s different when you’re four points behind a team that’s 18th as they normally don’t pick up as many as a fourth or fifth placed team.’
He admitted the season is not ‘acceptable’ if he failed to lead his side to Europe’s premier competition next season
Liverpool defender Joe Gomez trained on Tuesday and is hoping to return to the squad which is timely given injuries to Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong, plus the suspension of stand-in right back Dominik Szoboszlai after his red card at Manchester City.
But Gomez is unlikely to be fit enough to start, meaning one of Curtis Jones or Wataru Endo will likely play at right back.