Arne Slot said he has every reason to believe he will still be Liverpool’s head coach next season, with the club’s plans for the summer already moving forward even as the team tries to steady itself after a run of uneven results.
Slot said he is contracted to Liverpool and pointed to the talks he has held with the hierarchy as the main reason for his confidence. “I don’t think I am deciding that alone by myself, but I have every reason to believe I am the Liverpool manager next season. First of all, I am contracted to this club and second of all from all the talks we are having. That is my take on it,” he said.
His comments come after Liverpool drew 1-1 with Chelsea last weekend, a result that was met with boos at Anfield and renewed scrutiny of a side that has not matched its title-winning standards from the Dutchman’s debut campaign. Slot said that criticism is normal when a team does not win the league, but insisted nothing has changed in his day-to-day relationship with the people around him.
“I don’t know how to say this in English perfectly but there is no reason to think that it is not going to be the situation. It is all about you guys who are talking about this and probably social media even more. It is not something I am talking about every day. I am talking about Aston Villa. For me, nothing has changed. What has changed is the results. My relationship with the people I speak to every single day has not changed a single bit,” he said.
Slot is also heavily involved in planning for next season, with Liverpool continuing talks over new players while the club prepares for its tour. “We know where we go on tour, our plans have been made, and talks have been ongoing between the club and new players and I am involved in that,” he said. That work is taking place while Liverpool still have a major short-term target in front of them: a win at fifth-placed Aston Villa on Friday would secure Champions League qualification.
The club’s internal position on Slot has not shifted, and there remains support for the manager after he delivered the Premier League title in his first season. Liverpool are trying to balance that longer view with a disappointing finish to the campaign and visible fan frustration over recent results. The need to plan ahead is already clear in the transfer market, where Leipzig winger Yan Diomande is among the players being considered as Liverpool look for options to replace Mohamed Salah.
There was another sign of that forward planning on Tuesday, when sporting director Richard Hughes attended a farewell dinner for Salah and Andy Robertson. Michael Edwards and Mike Gordon were also there, underlining how much work is already under way behind the scenes as Liverpool shape the squad for next season.
Salah could yet be part of the picture at Villa Park, with the forward in line to return from injury for a few minutes. For Slot, though, the wider message was plain: his future is not the issue he wants to discuss, and the club is behaving as though he will still be there when the next campaign begins.
