Arne Slot has said it would be unacceptable for Liverpool not to qualify for the Champions League and that this season has been the toughest of his managerial career “by a mile”.
The Premier League champions lie sixth, five points off fourth place, although fifth is likely to yield a Champions League spot. Liverpool, who spent almost £450m on players last summer, are heavily reliant on Champions League income for their business model but have won once in seven league games before Wednesday’s visit to Sunderland.
Slot said: “If we don’t have Champions League football, it’s definitely not been an acceptable season.” The head coach added: “When I arrived here we could only sign Federico Chiesa and that was after a Europa League season. That does have an enormous impact on the way this club is run, that is clear. We are completely aware.”
Slot has faced a wide range of issues this season but believes his team can achieve “something special” in the Champions League and FA Cup. But he accepted the campaign had been the hardest of his 10 years as a coach.
“By a mile,” he said. “Because all the other seasons I’ve managed there were only positives. I don’t think I’d ever lost two games in a row, so it’s an exception this season for me as it is for the players. The players are not used to losing a lot or having a lot of draws. I’m not used to that as well. So, yes, this season has been more challenging for me but you also take nice things out of it – that might sound weird – because I also look at how much improvement we are making.
“In my opinion, everyone is now able to play every three days at an intensity level that is needed at this club and, as a result of that, I think our performances are much better than they were in the period at the start of the season when we started playing a double programme.”
Liverpool could be without four right-back options at the Stadium of Light with Dominik Szoboszlai suspended after his red card against Manchester City. Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley are injured and a late call will be made on Joe Gomez after his return to training on Tuesday.
