Arne Slot insists he is looking no further ahead than ‘the next game’ as Liverpool bid to get their faltering title defence back on track against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
After five wins from their first five games, the Reds’ form has taken an alarming downturn, with the 3-0 defeat at Manchester City a fortnight ago marking the reigning champions’ sixth league defeat in their last seven games.
Slot’s team are now languishing in eighth place in the table, eight points behind runaway leaders Arsenal, but the Dutchman maintains it is still too soon to write off Liverpool’s title chances.
He told reporters: “We didn’t do this last season as well, when we were top of the league.
“It’s just about the next game.
“And I’ve said many times last season, and I say this season again as well, the best way to judge a league table is after 38 games, but the next best thing, in my opinion, is after 19 games.”
Jota’s death ‘not an excuse’
On Wednesday, Liverpool vice-captain Andy Robertson spoke movingly of the impact of close friend Diogo Jota’s death, admitting he could not get the Portugal forward ‘out of my head’ before Scotland sealed qualification for the World Cup with a thrilling win over Denmark.
And while Slot agreed that the passing of Jota and his brother Andre Silva in a car crash in July was still having an effect on his team, he refused to use it as an excuse for the Reds’ slump.
He continued: “I saw the interview, and I know that it is an issue for us, which is, I think, completely normal.
“But…I always think about how much it feels for his wife and his children, because that’s so, so, so, so much harder for them than it is for us.
“But that we miss the player and the person, that is completely clear.
“We will never use it as an excuse because that doesn’t feel right.”
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Mixed injury news for Slot
Slot has been boosted by the return to training of goalkeeper Alisson Becker, but Conor Bradley and Florian Wirtz have both been ruled out with injuries picked up on international duty.
Bradley’s absence in particular will cause a defensive headache for the Reds boss.
The Northern Ireland international had been in excellent form prior to the World Cup qualifiers but now joins fellow right-back Jeremie Frimpong on the sidelines for the next three weeks.
Joe Gomez is likely to deputise on Saturday, with Curtis Jones or Dominik Szoboszlai other options.
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