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says Arne Slott Liverpool If they want to qualify for next season’s Champions League and accept failure to do so, it would be “unacceptable”.
The Merseysiders travel to Sunderland tomorrow night, sixth in the Premier League after Sunday’s heartbreaking defeat to Manchester City. Fifth place is enough to secure a place in Europe’s elite club competition while fourth would guarantee it.
Liverpool are four points behind fifth-placed Chelsea and five behind fourth-placed Manchester United.
And Slott admits there’s little margin for error from here on out.
He said: “Closer to perfect (needs) because of the points we’re behind. It’s different when you’re four points behind a team in 18th because they’re usually not as favored as a team in fourth or fifth.”
“We have a lot to win and we haven’t done that much this season so it should be better.
“The margin is very small because we were seven minutes behind City and now we are 11 points behind.”
Failing to finish in the top five would have serious implications for Liverpool’s summer transfer plans – not to mention Slott’s own job security.
The Dutchman has first-hand experience of the impact, adding: “If we don’t have Champions League football, it’s certainly not an acceptable season.
“When I arrived here (in 2024) we could only sign Federico Chiesa and that was after the Europa League season. I am fully aware of that.”
Slott admits this has been his toughest season yet
Slott’s career path to date has been one of steady progress with successful spells at Kambur and AZ Alkmaar, culminating in domestic title success in the Netherlands and England with Feyenoord and Liverpool respectively.
And he admits this season has been his toughest in management so far.
“It has been the most difficult season for me as a manager by a mile,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever lost two games in a row before. It’s an exception for me and the players, they’re not used to losing so much and drawing so much.
“This season has been challenging. But I also see how much we are improving. The main thing as a manager is the result, but the next thing is that the players can improve and I am seeing that.
“Our performance is a lot better now than it was at the beginning of the season where we started playing the doubles program. We started dropping a lot of points from the moment we went into it.”
