Arne Slot has revealed that he considers this season the most difficult of his managerial career so far, but he will consider it “acceptable” if he can secure Champions League qualification.
Liverpool’s Premier League title defence has been fraught, with Slot’s squad limited by injury despite a summer spend of £446million.
Slot was widely tipped for the sack after losing six in seven and publicly falling out with Mohamed Salah earlier in the campaign, and while he laments those difficult moments, the Dutchman insisted he remains encouraged by his side’s progress.
“Fair to say it's the toughest season for me as a manager by a mile,” said Slot. “I don't think I'd ever previously lost two games in a row!
“It's an exception for me and the players, they aren't used to losing and drawing so much. This season has been more challenging for me.”
He added: “But I also look at how much improvement we are making. The main thing as a manager is results, but the next thing is seeing players can improve and I'm seeing that.
“Our performances are much better now than at the start of the season where we started playing a double programme. Since we went into that we started to drop a lot of points.”
The season is far from a write-off. Liverpool are still in two cups and sit sixth in the Premier League with 13 matches left to play, meaning a return to the Champions League next season is well within reach.
Slot has set his sights on doing exactly that, suggesting the Reds would be active in the summer transfer market should they qualify.
“If we don't have Champions League, then it's definitely not been an acceptable season,” he declared.
“When I arrived here, we could only sign (Federico) Chiesa and that was after a Europa League season. I'm completely aware of that.”
