Liverpool insist they back Arne Slot. The next fortnight will put that to the test

After taking his seat on the stage to rapturous acclaim, Jurgen Klopp acknowledged that the timing was awkward.

“It’s nice to be back,” the former Liverpool manager told guests at a special fundraising night at Anfield for the LFC Foundation before last weekend’s legends match with Borussia Dortmund.

“It doesn’t happen often enough to be 100 per cent honest. First, it was going so good (for Liverpool on the field) and I didn’t want to jinx it. Then it’s going not so good and I didn’t want to show my face. But I had to because I committed to this so long ago.”

Klopp has been mindful to keep his distance since the emotional goodbye of May 2024. He didn’t return to Anfield until 12 months later when he stood in the directors’ box applauding as his successor Arne Slot lifted the Premier League trophy.

The mood could hardly have been more different for Klopp’s latest visit back to Merseyside in his role as an honorary ambassador for the foundation.

Slot is under pressure and Liverpool’s troubled season is about to enter a defining period. The sight of his popular predecessor back on the Anfield touchline and being serenaded by a capacity crowd as he unleashed fist pumps in front of the Kop certainly didn’t make Slot’s life any easier.

Throw into the mix Mohamed Salah’s announcement that he will be leaving at the end of the campaign and all the tributes that followed, and Liverpool fans would be forgiven for wanting to wallow in the warm memories of recent glories.

Klopp symbolises the kind of fearless, front-foot attacking brand of football which an increasingly restless fanbase is craving. Far too often this season, Slot’s Liverpool have looked like a team lacking identity. Too slow, too predictable, and at times simply boring to watch as they dominate possession but do so little with it. Being vulnerable at one end and wasteful at the other is a wretched combination.

Liverpool have gone from being crowned champions to losing 10 Premier League games in a season for the first time since 2015-16 when they finished eighth. That was the campaign when Klopp took over from Brendan Rodgers in October and led the club to two cup finals with the much maligned squad he inherited.

Expectation levels were different back then. Liverpool hadn’t followed up winning a record-equalling 20th top-flight title by embarking on the biggest spending spree in their history.

After every crushing setback this season, Slot has delivered a rallying call that “something special” could still be salvaged and he’s been right. They’ve been fortunate that so many of their rivals have had problems of their own. Yet now we’ve reached the point of no return. The run-in, and especially the next fortnight, is where damage sustained simply can’t be repaired, with crucial games looming in the FA Cup, Champions League and Premier League.

When the dust settles after that run, Liverpool could be preparing for two semi-finals and be on course for the top-five Premier League finish that would secure Champions League qualification.

Alternatively, hopes of silverware may have been extinguished and they could find themselves facing the nightmare prospect of Europa League or even Conference League football.  The financial consequences would be felt all summer.

Such is the congested nature of the table that Slot’s side, in fifth, are six points behind third-placed Manchester United, but only six clear of 11th-placed Sunderland.

For all the external noise, the decision-makers at Fenway Sports Group, which owns the club, remain fully supportive of Slot, believing he has been dealt a difficult hand this season.

The tragic loss of Diogo Jota last July rocked everyone connected with Liverpool and there was great respect for the leadership Slot showed during such a traumatic period.

Other mitigating factors include serious injuries to Alexander Isak, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni, the declining output of established stars, including Salah and Alexis Mac Allister, and summer signings needing time to adjust to their new surroundings.

Slot cannot carry the can for recruitment decisions given the greater input from FSG CEO of football Michael Edwards and sporting director Richard Hughes when it comes to allocating resources. Liverpool opted to buy technical players at a time when the Premier League was becoming more direct and physical.

They have been hampered by a lack of pace and dynamism in wide areas, with the exits of Luis Diaz and Trent Alexander-Arnold proving more damaging than anyone imagined.

Yet Slot has undoubtedly made mistakes. He hasn’t impacted games in the same way with either tactical tweaks or personnel changes, and too often Liverpool’s team structure has disintegrated when they have been left chasing games. FSG is not blind to that.

However, the decision-makers still retain faith in him and believe, with the right additions this summer, Slot can turn things around in the same way that Klopp did after a disappointing fifth-placed finish in 2022-23.

‘Hire and fire’ has never been the FSG way. Sir Kenny Dalglish, Rodgers, Klopp and Slot are the only managers FSG have appointed since it bought Liverpool in October 2010.

Rodgers even survived a humiliating 6-1 final-day thrashing at Stoke City in May 2015, which condemned them to a sixth-placed Premier League finish. He had credit in the bank from nearly winning the title 12 months earlier.

FSG does not want to rip things up and start again this summer. Senior club figures have distanced themselves from suggestions that Slot is effectively on trial between now and the end of the season. They insist that no specific targets have been set to secure his job.

For all the speculation linking Xabi Alonso with Liverpool, internally they believe that those rumours are based on false assumptions, such as the idea that the Spaniard, who has been out of work since parting company with Real Madrid in January, was their first pick before they turned to Slot.

The hope is that the boost provided by the return of Isak — coupled with a collective desire to send Salah off on a high — will galvanise Liverpool during the run-in.

After all, this is a side who have beaten Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Inter and Arsenal this season. The 4-0 rout of Galatasaray before the break also showcased the heights they are capable of reaching. They do have it in them.

However, it’s hard to place much trust in a team who have taken just one point out of the last nine on offer in the Premier League against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion. You just don’t know which Liverpool will turn up.

The boos after the recent home stalemate with Tottenham underlined that patience is wearing thin with match-going supporters. The subsequent announcement regarding ticket price increases for the next three seasons also risks fuelling unrest, with fan groups discussing the possibility of protests.

FSG intends to stick to the plan but the reality is that resolve will be tested by what happens on the field in the coming weeks. If Liverpool kick on, the debate over Slot’s future will ease. If they wilt and Anfield turns mutinous, there will be a clamour for change that will be hard to ignore.