- Arne Slot is under increasing pressure at Liverpool
- A lot of fans want the Dutchman sacked immediately
- Steven Gerrard is being mooted as a potential replacement
Arne Slot is claimed to have lost the Liverpool dressing room, with Steven Gerrard touted as an option to replace him.
This time last year, the Reds were ecstatic. Slot was just four weeks away from sealing the Premier League title in only his first season in charge of the team that Jurgen Klopp left.
Those who had hoped to talk about Liverpool falling off in the wake of the German’s departure, like Manchester United in the post-Alex Ferguson era, were silenced by the Dutchman and Co.
The Anfield faithful had enough reason to believe that the Liverpool think tank, headed by Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes, had devised the perfect plan to build on what Klopp had forged.
Fast forward a year, and it has all fallen like a house of cards. With every passing game, there are increasing fears that last season’s triumph was just an anomaly, and the Merseyside-based club may yet have the same fate as United.
Jamie O’Hara expects Slot to be sacked
Liverpool’s 4-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday summed up their season perfectly.
Slot’s men started the game on the front foot and even had a few sights of goal, with Mohamed Salah missing a chance from the left side of the six-yard box.
However, as soon as Erling Haaland converted his penalty, cheaply conceded by Virgil van Dijk, in the 39th minute, the players’ body language shifted.
Everyone, including the captain, hung their heads as Pep Guardiola’s side went to run riot.
While fingers have been pointed in all directions, Jamie O’Hara believes a lot of the Reds problems are down to one man – Slot.
The pundit is of the view that the former Feyenoord boss has been ‘found out’ and it is only a matter of time before the club pulls the plug on him.
He also mooted Gerrard and Xabi Alonso as potential options to take the reins at Anfield.
Speaking live on air, he said: “I just think the manager’s not good enough. I think Arne Slot will go in the summer. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t go soon, with people like your Gerrards and your Alonsos waiting in the wings, waiting for that moment.
“Liverpool stuck by Slot to be fair, they had a difficult start to the season with what went on and the fact that they won the league and then had to rebuild a little bit, but he’s been found out as a gaffer. He’s not good enough.”
O’Hara, though, pointed out that Liverpool still have a solid squad and only require a few reinforcements to return to their best next term.
O’Hara added: “This is not the Liverpool team I know, the Liverpool team we all got to love, really. The DNA of Liverpool, rock and roll football, high tempo, high press, going after teams. They fell off a cliff, and I think the players have lost belief in the manager now.
“So, I don’t think there’s a massive overhaul in terms of the players. They need to add some quality, maybe at the back, centre-half, but I’m not convinced that they’re a bad team.”
Liverpool should consider Gerrard on a temporary basis
Gerrard had a promising start to his managerial career at Rangers, leading the Light Blues to the Scottish Premiership in 2021.
Not only did the Anfield hero end Celtic’s nine-year reign in Scotland, but he also did so without losing a single game in the league that term.
However, his stocks have significantly collapsed since his failed stint at Aston Villa. His one-and-a-half-year spell at Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia also did not do him any favours.
That said, it would not be entirely unwise of Liverpool to consider hiring Gerrard as a caretaker until the end of the season if they sack Slot now.
Journalists continue to insist that the Dutch tactician still has Fenway Sports Group’s backing, but that may change if the Reds bow out of the UEFA Champions League after a defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals and first leg of this fixture is on Wednesday 8th April.
Although Gerrard’s tactical acumen leaves a lot to be desired, his stature as a club legend may help bring the standards back up.
