Slot's Quiet Resolve: Liverpool's Form Woes, Injury Updates, and the West Ham Test

Overview and Stakes

Arne Slot, Liverpool's manager, spoke about his talks with the club's owners and his view on the team's recent dip in form, along with the latest injury news ahead of Sunday's clash with West Ham in matchweek 13 of the Premier League.

Liverpool were defeated 4-1 at Anfield by PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday night, the fifth group-stage game in the Champions League, continuing a poor run for the Reds this season.

Liverpool currently sit 12th in the Premier League after 12 matches, with six wins and six defeats, having scored 18 and conceded 20.

In the Champions League, Liverpool are 13th with nine points from five games, having three wins and two losses, scoring 10 and conceding eight.

Slot on leadership, focus, and the path forward

When asked about the conversations with the owners since yesterday evening, Slot said they have been the same since he arrived: the club will keep fighting and trying to improve, but the discussions have followed the same pattern for more than a year and a half.

Asked whether he feels anger toward the players for the recent results, Slot replied that he is not angry. He believes the standards have not been on the level expected and that the team can perform better.

The Dutch coach added that last season when the team were performing well the focus was on individuals; now the focus should be on the team and not on individuals, and if performance drops the team should be assessed as a whole.

Regarding what he might do differently to lift the team, Slot said it is not easy to answer and that reflecting on matches and decisions is natural; sometimes you might do a little more if you lose.

He stressed that the club's core is to keep fighting no matter how hard it gets and that there are big parts of the game we do well, even if people focus on the parts we are not good at.

Injuries and squad updates

Slot gave a fresh update on near-term availability: Alisson returned to training with the group today and is expected to be fit for the weekend; Florian Wirz is in the final stage of rehabilitation and could train with the squad on Saturday if all goes to plan.

He added that Hugo Ekitike's injury is not expected to be long-term and today was a recovery day for him; his participation on Sunday remains undecided.

On Joe Gomez, Slot said he is close to a return and could have featured yesterday in minutes needed to play, but with a 3-1 deficit it made sense to make attacking changes.

West Ham preview and the challenge ahead

Slot also discussed West Ham and said Nuno Espirito Santo has influenced their results; he has done well wherever he has coached in England and is a manager difficult to play against.

West Ham are a tough side to beat at present, and Liverpool must be ready for the test.

Curtis Jones’ comments after the Eindhoven defeat were relayed via Anfield Sector, with him saying that the club is in a bad place and must change, and that Liverpool will fight to restore the team to the required level and show why it remains one of the best.

Asked about Jones's remarks, Slot noted that it is good if players try to bring that energy into the game; they ran hard, but the execution did not translate into results. He stressed that bringing that effort as a team is the minimum expectation and that there is alignment on the club's vision for escaping this situation.

Slot also commented on the mood of his players during yesterday's match, acknowledging that morale is not always low in the opening minutes, but can sag after the third and fourth blows and the 3-1 scoreline, with ten tough minutes evident. He added that the players felt the pain and that their fighting spirit was not at its best in that game.

Two light-hearted lines to end: if optimism were a player, Liverpool would still be warming up for a long season. And if morale could win games, Liverpool would likely need extra help from the forwards.