Arne Slot and the Liverpool players were said to have been taken aback by the club’s decision to part company with the head coach on Saturday.
Just six days after the conclusion to a horrible season for the Reds, it was confirmed that the 47-year-old had been relieved of his duties at Anfield, almost two years to the day that he officially took over from Jurgen Klopp.
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Multiple trusted sources have claimed that the Dutchman only learned of his fate yesterday morning, having been planning ahead for the 2026/27 campaign as recently as Friday, with FSG appearing to perform a volte-face from their rumoured long-held stance that they’d continue to persevere with him.
How did Slot and Liverpool players react to the news?
Lewis Steele, Merseyside football reporter for the Daily Mail, published an article detailing Liverpool’s decision to part ways with Slot, and he revealed that Saturday’s news came as a bombshell to many of those internally.
The journalist reported that the tactician was ‘surprised at the news’ after he was ‘given support in the last week’ but he is ‘not said to be licking his wounds’ and instead ‘leaves with pride at what he accomplished at the club’.
The Reds’ players were also said to have been ‘shocked’ by the hierarchy’s decision to relieve the 47-year-old of his duties at Anfield.
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What might Slot’s sacking mean for players at Liverpool?
Even though there had been abundant speculation over Slot’s future during the final few weeks of the season, paradoxically there’s still a sense that his departure has come out of the blue.
All the indications from reliable sources were that FSG would give the Dutchman at least the start of next term to try and instigate an improvement at Liverpool, but evidently they felt that this is the right time to make a change in the dugout.
The squad will now be eagerly awaiting news of a successor and how it might impact them individually and collectively. Will some players suddenly be deemed surplus to requirements? Will those who barely got a look-in (e.g. Harvey Elliott) now have a new lease of life at Anfield?
By sacking Slot at the start of the summer, the LFC hierarchy have given themselves ample time to appoint a replacement before the transfer window opens, and well in time for the beginning of pre-season.
Hopefully we’ll have clarity on that situation sooner rather than later and we can begin looking in earnest towards a new era at Anfield after the most difficult of seasons for the club.
If the players are shocked, they could be shocked when they get replaced by the new gaffer too. The losses are not something that are new.
Slot lost the players a long time ago, most managers get the sack because of player power.
It shows the importance of having a manager who commands respect from the players, and has the personality and Authority to be a leader of men. To handle the big players.
You look back at last season with spurs and west ham. Spurs decided to appoint Thomas Frank from brentford. Frank just like Iraola did a good job with brentford and then he went to a big football club with big players with big expectations.
Lost of rumours around frank that he lost the dressing room at spurs, at times he looked lost, a fish out of water. Same with Graham Potter who failed with Chelsea then west ham, and the appointment of Potter for west ham cost them premier league status.
No doubt all good technical coaches but at big football clubs you need charisma authority to get respect from the big players.
My biggest concern with Iraola is can he handle it at a big football club, where the pressure is on from day one. So many have failed going to big clubs.
Playing good football is meaningless if you are not getting the results. It’s a results business.
Good luck to Iraola on the Liverpool job, we will all get behind him and hopefully he does well.
But it’s a massive risk, just ask spurs and west ham.
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My concern too. Managing a club of huge international repute with expectations to match is a job for precious few. If Iraola gets the job he will be under the microscope like never before. Confidence and personality are important, as are flexibility and tactical acumen.