🔗 Share this article

Liverpool's head coach has announced that the Anfield decision-makers agree with his assessment regarding the team's slump and he refuses to compromise their forward-thinking philosophy in quest for a improvement. The head coach admitted that six defeats in seven matches was unacceptable ahead of Aston Villa's visit.

Growing Expectations Throughout Tough Spell

The manager acknowledged the pressure was on before his rotated squad were eliminated from the Carabao Cup against their Premier League rivals. However, he maintained that this pressure to arrest the slide is not coming from the team's proprietors or management structure following a summer transfer outlay of nearly £450 million.

"They say similar things," remarked Slot, whose squad will encounter Los Blancos in the Champions League and travel to Pep Guardiola's side in the English top flight.

Squad Quality Continues Unchallenged

Slot believes his team "boast a remarkable roster if they are completely available and fully prepared for the schedule ahead". He said that the summer investment in players such as the German international and the forward, who is probably unavailable again against Aston Villa through physical problems, had left the club "in a strong situation for the short-term future and the long-term future".

Gelling Difficulties

When pressed on why his team were struggling to integrate, he responded: "You don't really help me. 'What are the reasons?' I give an explanation and people say I'm making justifications. I can identify several explanations why we are not winning as much or experiencing losses as we do but, as I always emphasize, there are inadequate reasons to have a run of form as we had now."

• Even if I could identify numerous reasons
• Leading this club you must avoid losses
• In truth six losses from seven matches

Defensive Numbers

Only the Lancashire club (twenty-one) have allowed more significant openings from regular play this season than the Merseysiders (nineteen). The first-place team, the Gunners, have conceded only two. Yet Liverpool's coach rejects the defense has been too vulnerable and claims there is no reason to compromise forward-thinking approach for a cautious system after ten fixtures without a shutout.

"In my view we're not giving up numerous openings so I see no justification to modify our philosophy completely but we have to enhance in preventing goals," he said.

Recent Examples

"When facing United, how many opportunities did we allow? Versus the German side when we were leading 3-1, we scarcely gave up a effort at our net. In each fixture we played until now we haven't allowed a numerous openings. Not at all. We do give away a bit more than the previous campaign but that is related to us being 1-0 down so you take a bit more risk. But in general I don't believe that our challenge is that we give up too many openings. Our challenge is we are unable to finish the opportunities we generate."