‘He knows it’ – Ex-Liverpool striker issues Slot sack claim after axe falls on Maresca and Amorim

Arne Slot will realise that he’s not immune from losing his job at Liverpool if they fail to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

That’s according to John Aldridge, who’s been giving his view on where the Reds boss currently stands amid a difficult sophomore campaign at Anfield, with genuine hope of retaining the Premier League title long since extinguished and fourth place realistically the best we can aim for now.

We’re only five days into 2026 but two top-flight head coaches have already been sacked since the turn of the year, with Enzo Maresca departing Chelsea and Ruben Amorim jettisoned by Manchester United, currently the two clubs in closest pursuit of LFC for the final guaranteed Champions League berth in England.

Aldridge suggests Slot isn’t immune from Liverpool sack

Having seen a couple of Liverpool’s rivals pull the trigger in pursuit of a top-four finish, Aldridge believes that Slot isn’t bulletproof from suffering a similar fate despite the Anfield hierarchy traditionally being far more patient than their counterparts at Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford.

In his latest Liverpool Echo column, the former Reds striker wrote: ‘Chelsea sacked Maresca. United have sacked Amorim. They both know how important it is to get in the top four. They’re doing it now rather than later to have a go at getting in the top four. They are making the change before it is too late. We should be wary of both of them.

‘The owners have kept faith with Arne despite our difficult season, but if we hadn’t won the league last year, it might have been different for him. He might have lost his job too.’

Aldridge added: ‘We’re not a club who sack managers easily. We don’t do that, we’re not United, but Arne is not daft. If he doesn’t deliver, that’s the way the game is. He knows it; we all know it. Let’s hope he can turn it around, but we have to see some signs.’

Now isn’t the time to sack Slot, but credit in the bank isn’t infinite

Slot has already endured scrutiny over his position this season – after Liverpool’s 4-1 drubbing at home to PSV Eindhoven in November (their ninth defeat in 12 games), Ian Doyle opined that the Dutchman had ‘one week to keep his job’.

The Reds are unbeaten in nine matches since that Anfield debacle six weeks ago, but frustrating draws against Sunderland, Leeds (twice) and Fulham have prevented us from building a comfortable gap to the similarly inconsistent Chelsea and Man United behind us.

Aldridge is correct in saying that Liverpool are typically much more patient than those two clubs – since Alex Ferguson left Old Trafford in 2013, he’s had six permanent successors in the hotseat, while the Blues have had nine (including two spells for Frank Lampard), whereas the Reds have had just Brendan Rodgers, Jurgen Klopp and Slot.

The 47-year-old is unlikely to be dismissed mid-season, given the frantic need for the right successor to come in as quickly as possible, but he’ll realise that failure to qualify for the Champions League could be the prompt for change, especially after beginning the campaign as reigning champions.

We wouldn’t be in favour of sacking the man who led us to Premier League glory nine months ago, but nor is his credit in the bank infinite. Hopefully he can instigate a prolonged winning run in the second half of the season and pull away from the chasing pack in the hunt for a top-four finish.