Gary Neville has come out to question Arne Slot’s Liverpool future, ahead of Manchester United’s clash with the Reds this coming Sunday.
Liverpool have a week free of mid-week fixtures, off the back of the club being knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stages 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain.
While that humbling loss ended any faint hope of silverware for Slot, who will go empty-handed in his second season at the helm, it will give the Reds plenty of time on the training ground at the AXA Training Centre, ahead of their fierce Premier League showdown with bitter North West rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Winning two Premier League matches on the spin, heading into this clash at the Theatre of Dreams, Liverpool will be confident they can get one over on another of their arch rivals, in much the same way they got the better of Everton in a hotly contested Merseyside Derby.
Gary Neville believes the pressure is still on the Dutchman to deliver a result when making the short trip to Manchester, despite positive recent performances, with his long-term future at Anfield questioned by the former defender.
Why the pressure is still on for Slot
Liverpool do look like a side edging close to securing Champions League football come the end of the season, with only five more points needing to be collected to ensure a top-five position is concrete.
While Slot’s debut Premier League title raised the bar to a near-impossible level, those soaring early-season expectations effectively turned his initial success into a trap for future scrutiny.
He can get the fanbase somewhat back on side with Champions League football being secured, but in Neville’s eyes, this is a “massive” game for the ex-Feyenoord head coach, considering he was on the receiving end of a sobering 2-1 loss to the Red Devils earlier in the season, when Liverpool looked completely lost.
Neville, when speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, also admitted that this is a monumental clash for stand-in United manager Michael Carrick, as well, with both figures far from secure in their respective dugouts.
He said, when looking ahead to the 3:30 pm kick off on Sunday: “I think this is massive for both managers. I think this is massive for Michael Carrick and big for Arne Slot.
“I don’t think either of them can afford an embarrassment on Sunday. A win for either would be very big and would give them both confidence.
“There are question marks over whether both are going to be at their clubs at the start of next season. Is Michael going to get the job? Is Arne Slot going to be kept on? Sort of those questions keep appearing on the Liverpool manager.
“The game itself for jeopardy and what’s at stake, I don’t think it’s actually that important for either team, I think they’ll both get in the Champions League.
“But for both managers, I think it’s a serious game of seeing themselves against a big rival for next season, a big rival generally. So I think you’re right, the Michael Carrick-Arne Slot face-off is, I think, the big thing about Sunday.”
Noting that the atmosphere has been “strange” this is because the Reds title defence hampered by injuries and inconsistent results, Gary Neville is right to point out that the pressure hasn’t lifted from Slot’s shoulders. Success is still the only acceptable currency on Merseyside
A win against the Red Devils, in their own backyard, would further show supporters that they’re out the other side of their indifferent performances, as they look to leapfrog their arch rivals into third position.
A loss, however, would leave a bad taste in the mouth, with the Dutchman’s inability to spur his team on to win resiliently, further making him look like an incapable long-term option in the dug-out.
The powers that be at Anfield have indicated that they’re sticking by the one-time Premier League champion, ahead of a summer rebuild, but actions do speak louder than words, with a demoralising defeat at Old Trafford hardly instilling confidence that he is the right man for the long-term.
