Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has admitted that he is still hoping Arne Slot will be in charge at Anfield next season despite growing pressure from fans to sack the Dutchman.
Slot‘s case for staying with the Reds took another blow on Saturday, as his team went down to a weak 2-1 defeat against Brighton.
The loss threw Liverpool‘s hopes of qualifying for next year’s Champions League into further doubt, and fans are now baying for Slot to be relieved of his duties. According to Nicol, though, the 47-year-old still has enough credit in the bank from last season’s Premier League title win.
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Slot deserves a chance to show this year was a fluke
One of Liverpool’s best ever full-backs, Nicol never usually offers much restraint when analysing his former club’s failings as a pundit for ESPN.
That’s why it was perhaps a surprise to hear him come out in defence of Slot when asked whether he should be the Liverpool head coach at the beginning of 2026/27.
“I think he should keep his job, regardless of whether he gets in the Champions League or not, he should because of what he did last year,” Nicol answered.
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“And then he gets the chance to change it now. People ask me how can it change next year? Professionally it does change, teams can be at that level and then drop down, certainly not as low as Liverpool have dropped without a real honest excuse.
“So, that’s why I think he should get another chance at the start of the season.”
Nicol concedes Liverpool may feel differently
Although if it were up to him, Slot would keep his job, Nicol did concede that the thing which may sway the Liverpool owners towards sacking him is if they do not feel they can trust the current boss with this summer’s transfer budget.
“That would be the reason why he would get the sack, because they don’t want to give him that amount of money,” he said.
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“For me it’s really simple. It really boils down to whoever’s making the final decision, that will be the question, because of what happened after we signed so many players last year.
“They have to sign players, there’s no doubt, so the question becomes for the man in charge, ‘do I trust Arne Slot with this money and these new players?'”
Given the debacle of this season, the majority of fans have little or no faith in Slot – and also Richard Hughes – to make the right decisions in the market.
So far, the signs are that FSG tend to agree with Nicol and are willing to give Slot more time, but that stance should be wavering with every passing Liverpool defeat. Big decisions ahead.
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