Just a year ago, the city of Liverpool was awash in red, celebrating a Premier League title under their new Dutch manager, Arne Slot. The image of Slot, flanked by CEO Billy Hogan, sporting director Richard Hughes, and owner John Henry, basking in the glow of a 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham, is already etched in Anfield folklore. That heady afternoon, which saw Liverpool crowned champions of England for the 20th time, felt like the start of another golden era. But as the 2025-26 season winds down, the mood on Merseyside is decidedly more anxious and reflective.
Slot’s second campaign at the helm has been a stark contrast to the jubilation of his debut year. With four matches remaining—against Manchester United, Chelsea, Aston Villa, and Brentford—Liverpool sits in fourth place, needing six points to guarantee Champions League football next season. While that may seem a reasonable target, it’s a far cry from the expectations set by last season’s triumph. As one top reporter noted, "Liverpool and Slot have endured a nightmare campaign that barring a miracle in the Champions League, will end trophyless."
For Liverpool, a club that prides itself on challenging for every major honor, merely qualifying for Europe’s top competition isn’t enough. The standards are sky-high, and this season’s struggles have not gone unnoticed by fans or pundits. Dominik Szoboszlai has been a rare bright spot, but most of the squad has failed to reach the heights of the previous year. The frustration boiled over last weekend, when 8,000 traveling supporters at the Etihad left early, a silent but powerful statement of discontent.
Injuries have played a part, with key players like Conor Bradley, Wataru Endo, and the expensive strike duo of Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak missing significant time. The tragic passing of Diogo Jota before the season cast a shadow over the squad, and the departures of stalwarts such as Darwin Nunez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, and Harvey Elliott last summer left Liverpool with a thinner bench than ever. Slot himself has been candid about the club’s approach: "Liverpool do not retain players against their will," he stated, acknowledging that several left for new challenges. The result? A squad stretched thin and forced to rely on understudies who, frankly, haven’t always looked up to the task.
Slot’s record this season tells its own story: 53 games, 28 wins, 7 draws, and 18 defeats, averaging 1.72 points per game. Seventeen losses across all competitions is a number captain Virgil van Dijk has called "unacceptable" in his honest post-match assessments. The club’s style of play has come under fire as well, with some supporters branding it "boring"—a particularly stinging criticism for a fanbase that cherishes attacking, high-energy football. Slot admitted earlier this year that such labels are "difficult to hear," but results and entertainment have both been in short supply.
Despite the mounting pressure, Liverpool’s hierarchy appears steadfast in their support for the Dutch manager. The club’s American owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), have recently demonstrated their willingness to act ruthlessly—most notably by sacking Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora after a poor MLB season. Yet, when it comes to Liverpool, the message has been one of patience and backing. According to renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano, "Never in any moment have Liverpool management or owners told Arne Slot anything about a deadline or showing him no confidence. Every moment the message to Arne Slot has been about support and trust in what he’s doing. So Liverpool have always been supporting the manager."
Other top reporters echo this sentiment. Paul Joyce of The Times, widely regarded as the most reliable Liverpool insider, noted that Slot still has "credit in the bank" from last season’s title win, even as the club risks missing out on a top-five finish. Sam Wallace of The Telegraph reported on April 23, 2026, that "Liverpool want Arne Slot to remain manager next season," adding that FSG believes Slot will lead the club despite recent setbacks and the manager’s own admission that the team is "in survival mode." Club insider Graeme Bailey further revealed that Slot "fully expects" to stay on, with no indication from the hierarchy to the contrary.
Nevertheless, the specter of Xabi Alonso looms large. The former Liverpool midfielder, who recently guided Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title and boasts a 70.59% winning record over 34 matches at Real Madrid, is widely seen as the next in line should a change be made. Alonso’s legendary status at Anfield and growing reputation as a top coach have only intensified speculation. Yet, as Joyce reported, "there is little to suggest this aligns with internal thinking" at Liverpool. For now, Slot remains the man in charge, but the margin for error is shrinking.
Looking ahead, Liverpool faces a pivotal summer. With finances seemingly tied to Champions League qualification, the club may need to "sell-to-buy" as Slot himself admitted after the Champions League elimination by Paris Saint-Germain. The departures of valuable squad players like Ben Doak, Tyler Morton, and Jarell Quansah have left the current group with fewer assets to generate transfer funds. If first-team regulars are scrutinized for potential sales, it could mark the start of a significant rebuild—one that Slot will largely oversee, having a greater hand in shaping the squad than he did upon arrival.
FSG’s continued support for Slot is not without its caveats. The owners are well aware that Liverpool is "designed to do more than just confirm Champions League football," as one outlet put it. The club exists to win trophies and compete for the sport’s biggest prizes. If results and performances don’t improve, and if the style of football remains uninspiring, FSG’s patience—however robust it may seem now—could eventually run out. The recent sacking of Cora at the Red Sox stands as a warning: past glories offer only so much protection.
For now, though, all signs point to Slot staying in the dugout for the 2026-27 season. He retains the faith of the club’s hierarchy and, crucially, believes in his own ability to turn things around. With a "significant" summer transfer window on the horizon, Slot will have the chance to put his stamp on the squad and, hopefully, restore Liverpool to the heights reached just a year ago. The coming weeks will be decisive, not just for the immediate future, but for the direction of the club under his stewardship.
As the final whistle approaches on a turbulent campaign, the message from Anfield is clear: Arne Slot remains the man for now, but the expectations—and the pressure—have never been higher. Liverpool’s next chapter is about to be written, and all eyes will be on whether Slot can script a return to glory.