The Dutchman led the Reds to the Premier League title in his first year in charge but may be suffering from second-season syndrome.
His side have been wildly inconsistent this season and sit sixth in the table, having already lost twice as many games (8) as they did last season (4) following last weekend’s defeat to Manchester City.
Liverpool are in danger of missing out on Champions League football, something Slot admits would be unacceptable for the club.
“If we don’t have Champions League football, it hasn’t been an acceptable season,” he said at his press conference ahead of Wednesday’s match away to Sunderland.
“What I said when I arrived here: we can only sign Federico Chiesa and that was after a Europa League season. So it has a huge impact on the way this club is managed, so that’s clear. I’m fully aware of that.”
Read – Arne Slot admits Reds ‘not performing to Liverpool standards’
Arne Slot is by far having the toughest season at Liverpool
When asked whether he thought this was a tough season, he replied: “That can easily be said. All the other seasons I have had there have only been positive points, I don’t think I have ever lost two games in a row. For me, this season is an exception and that also applies to the players. They are not used to losing a lot or having a lot of draws. I am not used to that either.”
“It’s always a bigger challenge to get them going after a game of football and tell them after a win that we’re not as good as they might think, so this season has been a bigger challenge for me too.
“You also get nice things out of it, although that may sound strange. I also look at how much progress we are making. As a manager we are always looking for results, but it is also important that the players and the team improve, because if that doesn’t happen, we have an even bigger problem here.”
“But in my opinion everyone is now capable, perhaps not those who are injured, to play every three days at the intensity level that is required at this club and also in the Premier League.
“As a result, our performance is much, much, much better than at the beginning of the season. I don’t mean the first six games, but when we started playing a doubles program [including midweek European and domestic cup games].
“We only had one doubles program with Everton in the first six games, which was a difficult victory. Since we entered the doubles program, we started to lose so many points.”
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