Arne Slot has played down talks of a sack from his role as Liverpool head coach following the 4-2 defeat to Aston Villa on Friday night.
The Dutchman who guided the club to the Premier League title in his first season in charge has endured a difficult campaign in the role, which continued with Friday’s defeat at Villa Park.
The Reds have now conceded more goals in a 38-game Premier League season and have now conceded the most goals from set pieces in the Premier League this season (20).
Liverpool also lost their 19th game of the season across all competitions, marking the first time such will happen since the 2009-10 season.
While speaking after the match, Slot believes he is safe in the role and has reiterated his focus on Liverpool’s next game against Brentford.
“It’s not about me it’s about us being disappointed with the result. I spoke yesterday on it and that’s enough,” Slot said.
“Our focus is on the Brentford game and making sure we earn the support of the fans by starting the game aggressive and well.”
The game was an entertaining six-goal thriller, but it did not spark to life until the 42nd minute when Morgan Rogers broke the deadlock.
Virgil Van Dijk then pulled Liverpool back on level terms, before Ollie Watkins scored a double to put Aston Villa two goals ahead.
John McGinn added a fourth for the home side and despite Van Dijk’s late goal, Liverpool could not mount a comeback and were made to wait to seal their place in the Champions League.
“The culmination of the fan support and a good performance will lead us to what we want to achieve and that is qualifying for the Champions League”, Slot added.
Liverpool will hope to end a difficult campaign when they welcome Brentford to Anfield in their final match of the season next weekend, in what also marks Mohamed Salah’s final game in the red colours of the club.
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