Liverpool manager Arne Slott is only concerned about stopping his team’s alarming slump amid reports he has signed a new contract.
The Dutchman faces the first real test of his reign at Anfield as the Premier League champions have suffered six defeats in seven games in all competitions and are on a four-game losing streak.
Nevertheless, Slott is reportedly negotiating a new contract, but that’s not his focus.
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Asked about the possibility of a new contract, he said ahead of Saturday’s game against Aston Villa:
“That was the last question I expected. My focus is to get Liverpool back to winning ways once and for all. That’s my first answer. My second answer is that if a contract is signed we will talk about it. We will never talk about this here. My first thought is to win again and that is my main focus.”
Serious questions are being asked about Liverpool and the cause of the dramatic decline from a side that cruised to the title last season and won their opening seven games this term.
Slott wanted to avoid making “excuses” for his team’s poor performance, citing injuries and a busy schedule, but believes his team has what it takes to end an alarming slump.
“What gives me the most confidence is the quality of the players,” he added.
“There are other things we need to work on, but when we talk about things we need to improve on, people say we are making excuses.
“So maybe it would be better to say that we need to work on certain things right now, but there are a lot of things we can work on positively this week as well.
“We won’t miss anything. I’m completely satisfied with the team and all the qualities we have. I’m also completely confident in the strategy and direction we have.”
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“But the problem is, not all of them have had a proper pre-season or are injured, if you want to call it a problem.
“If you get three or four injured, you go back to 16 players. I strongly believe that 20 or 21 players is enough, but we have to keep them healthy like we did last season.”
“It’s harder to keep everyone available than last season, and if some of them aren’t available, that puts a lot of strain on the same players.
“Maybe last season we were more fortunate, and now we are more unlucky.
“But before people say this, there are no excuses for our results. We had to play a lot of away games with just two days of rest, which would have been difficult for the players last season and the players who have been in good shape since pre-season, but our situation was not like that.”
“It’s not about the depth of the team. It’s about how we progressed throughout the season in terms of injuries and availability.”
Alexander Isaac and Alisson Becker will again be absent against Villa, while Ryan Gravenbirch has returned to training and will be assessed ahead of the match.
