Arne Slot has admitted that failing to qualify for the Champions League would be unacceptable for Liverpool this season, but believes it may not necessarily cost him his job. The Dutchman’s side currently sit sixth in the Premier League, five points adrift of fourth place, though fifth may suffice for a Champions League spot given the expanded format.
Liverpool invested almost £450m in players last summer and rely heavily on Champions League revenue for their self-sustaining model. However, they have won only one of their last seven league matches ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Sunderland. Slot acknowledged the financial impact: “If we don’t have Champions League football, it’s definitely not been an acceptable season. When I arrived here we could only sign Federico Chiesa and that was after a Europa League season.”
Despite that, Slot argued his position is not directly tied to Champions League qualification, pointing to the 2022-23 season when Liverpool missed out but allowed Jürgen Klopp to rebuild his midfield. “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,” he said. He believes the club looks at progress and circumstances, not just results.
Slot described this season as the hardest of his coaching career “by a mile,” noting he had never lost two games in a row before. He praised the improvement in his squad’s fitness and intensity, saying they can now sustain the required level for three games a week. Liverpool could be without four right-back options at Sunderland, with Dominik Szoboszlai suspended, Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley injured, and Joe Gomez a late call after returning to training.
