Steven Gerrard has warned that Arne Slot’s position at Liverpool could come under serious threat if the club’s slide continues, describing the current situation as “worrying times” at Anfield.
Liverpool, who spent a staggering £446 million on new signings last summer, sit 21 points adrift of Premier League leaders Arsenal. For a club that measures itself by title races and Champions League nights, they now face a scrap just to return to Europe’s elite. Gerrard, speaking on talkSPORT, did not hide his concern.
“I think if the ownership and the people above, they see that gap, the Villa and United stretches or gets any worse, I worry for the manager's position,” he said. “I don't want to see that happen. I'm a huge fan of Arne Slot. I was blown away by his first season.”
That first campaign under Slot felt like a rebirth. High-energy football, a renewed connection with the crowd, and the sense that Liverpool were building something again after the end of the Jürgen Klopp era. This season has stripped much of that optimism away.
The defeat to Manchester City cut particularly deep. Not just the scoreline, but the manner of it.
“They had the chances, which they never took, and I think we all know in the big games, you've got to take your chances when they come along,” Gerrard said. City, he acknowledged, “were outstanding over the course of the game,” but Liverpool’s response once they fell behind set alarm bells ringing.
“It was really worrying and concerning the way Liverpool did crumble,” he added, before turning his attention to what followed. Some of the players’ post-match comments troubled him more than the collapse itself.
“Even more alarming what the players are saying after the game, in terms of saying there's no fight, we gave the game up,” he said. For Gerrard, a captain who built his reputation on dragging Liverpool through adversity, that crosses a line.
“At Liverpool football club, that can't happen on the pitch, and it certainly can't be said off the pitch, so worrying times, I must say.”
Upcoming Fixtures
Slot now stands at a crossroads week. Gerrard pinpointed the upcoming Fulham fixture as potentially decisive, a game that could either steady the ship or push the club closer to a crisis.
“I think the key to this situation will be the Fulham game,” he said. The equation is brutally simple: “If he can put more heat on United and Villa, and he can stay in the PSG game into next week, I think everything will be fine and in a better place in five, six days' time. But if this was to get any worse, I'd be worried for the manager, I must say.”
The message is clear. Perform now, or the questions around Slot’s future will grow louder. For a manager once hailed as the perfect heir to Klopp, the next few days may define whether this project regains its spark or unravels under the weight of its own ambition.
