Arne Slott admits he is experiencing the most challenging season of his managerial career to date as he attempts to secure Champions League qualification with Liverpool.

Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Manchester City at Anfield left the reigning Premier League champions in sixth place, five points behind fourth-placed Manchester United.

Slott faces growing speculation over his position less than two years after joining from Feyenoord to succeed Jurgen Klopp.

Asked if this has been his most difficult campaign, the Dutchman said: “By a mile.” “Because all the other seasons I’ve coached there have only been positives, so I don’t think I’ve ever lost two games in a row (before).

“This season is an exception for me, but also for the players, who are not used to losing a lot of games or drawing a lot.

“The season we’re having now is different from all the other seasons I’ve managed, we’ve always done something special – and it’s still possible for us to do something special this season.”

With United enjoying a renaissance under Michael Carrick and Aston Villa moving three points clear at the top of the table, Slott knows the challenge of finishing in the top four becomes even more difficult this week.

“To close that four, five-point gap to third, fourth, fifth, that means you have to win a lot, and that’s not what we’ve done this season. That’s why we have to do better, we have to be close to perfect,” he said.

“The gap is really small. Seven minutes before the end of the game, we thought we were five points behind Manchester City, and five minutes later, we were 11 points behind.”

“It’s definitely not an acceptable season if we don’t have the Champions League. When I came here we could only sign Federico Chiesa and that was after the Europa League season, so it does have a huge impact on the way the club operates.”

Liverpool will look to bounce back on Wednesday when they face Sunderland, who have the only unbeaten home record in the league, at the Stadium of Light.

They will have to do so without Dominik Szoboszlai after he received a controversial red card for withdrawing Erling Haaland against Manchester City.

The decision was widely criticized, with Rayan Cherki’s long-range shot finding the back of the net but then having it denied due to a tussle between Szoboszlai and Haaland.

However, Sloter remained candid, saying: “My feelings haven’t changed. When I saw the moment he got the red card I was disappointed he wasn’t given against Sunderland, but on the other hand I think the referee did what he had to do.

“If we love football, that’s not what we like, but it’s the rule book and referees have to follow the rule book.”

Szoboszlai has been filling in at right-back, with Joe Gomez set to return to training on Tuesday and Sloter likely to turn to Curtis Jones or Wataru Endo.

The Liverpool boss hoped his team could bounce back, adding: “I have to give a lot of credit to my players because we had a lot of setbacks and a lot of times we didn’t get what we deserved, but three days later they came out again and put in a good performance.”

‘There’s still a long way to go’ – Carla predicts Liverpool will miss out on Champions League places

Jamie Carragher predicts Liverpool will miss out on Champions League qualification via the Premier League.

this sky sports Experts say Arne Slaughter’s side are now “a long way off” from finishing in the top five after losing 2-1 at home to Manchester City. Super Sunday.

If they lose to Sunderland on Wednesday, they could drop to ninth.

Asked whether he thought Liverpool would enter the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League – which will be expanded again this season from four to five places – Carragher replied: “No. I don’t think so at the moment.”

“They’ve got to have a huge improvement in form. And the guys above them are in great form as well.

When you look at Liverpool’s league run, there’s still a long way to go to get into the top five in the Champions League. Now there is a gap. You can make up for that, but Liverpool have to perform well in two cup games to save the season.

“The manager has another decision to make about the front four.

“If Liverpool continue the way they are now, with the front four, playing from start to finish, I don’t know how they can get into the Champions League.

“But no matter what Arne Slaughter did, the makeup of this team wasn’t right. It never looked consistent and they never had control.”

“Liverpool still have a long way to go to qualify for the Champions League.”

Neville: Calmness and experience are key to Liverpool’s Champions League qualification

Carragher’s associates sky sports Pundit Gary Neville is more optimistic about Liverpool’s prospects of finishing in the top five, but says they must show mental toughness to bounce back from defeat to Manchester City.

“They are now four points behind the top five,” he said on Gary Neville Podcast. “It’s not a big gap at all and there’s still a long way to go and they’re going to have to play against most teams that are better than them, so they still have a lot of chances.

“But there’s a question mark over Liverpool. There’s a question mark over whether they’ll get into the Champions League places. I still think they will, but all they have to do is put it away very quickly and throw it into a corner and forget about it.”

“Some people will say it happens too often, conceding the ball very late. Some people will say something is wrong, something is fundamentally wrong, structurally wrong. But I think they just need to calm themselves down as much as possible. They need to snap out of it.”

“They have a lot of experience in Alisson, Alexis McAllister, Virgil van Dijk, Mo Salah and Ryan Gravenberch. They have a lot of players who know what to do.

“Can they hold on? Can they get back on their bikes?

“They go to Sunderland next. It’s embarrassing. If you really want to tell everyone you’re still going to play in the Champions League, go there and win. Go to Sunderland and win, it’s going to be a tough place. Win there at full strength, stay professional, keep a clean sheet, that’s where everyone needs to be looking for Liverpool now.

“It’s going to be tough out there and the locker room is going to be very low.”