Arne Slot responds to Liverpool sack calls with ‘weird’ claim about Reds fans

Arne Slot has responded to calls for him to be sacked on the back of Liverpool’s humbling defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday with a “weird” claim about Reds fans.

The 2-0 defeat to PSG , in which Slot opted to play five at the back and was roundly criticised for his negative tactics, was the Reds’ 17th defeat in all competitions this season; the most of any defending Premier League champion in history.

They’re currently 21 points behind league-leaders Arsenal, facing a battle to qualify for the Champions League with the worst run-in of any of the challengers to finish in the top five.

Despite the struggles under Slot a report on Friday has revealed five reasons why FSG want to keep the Dutchman in charge for next season .

And the Reds boss explained that he still feels backed by the hierarchy and the “weird” support of the fans in his press conference ahead of their clash with Fulham on Saturday.

Slot said: “I’m repeating myself a lot but I feel a lot of support. Not only from the owners but from Richard [Hughes] and Michael [Edwards], a lot of support from them as well but as weird as it might sound I also feel the support from the fans.

“We were going out in Paris when the players went out for the warm-up and after the 4-0 loss [against Manchester City] the fans immediately started singing ‘we love Liverpool’.

“I think it’s fair to say we were outplayed for 90 minutes and they were still singing and clapping for us. I’ve said many times, the club knows the period of time we’re in and in the mean time I feel complete support.”

On the positives he and his side can take from the defeat to PSG , he added: “If there’s anything positive from the Paris St-Germain game is that we faced the champions of Europe and we experienced on that evening that we were not on the level we should have been.

“But the good thing is that we have four or five days to show that we can be much more competitive. It also tells us that we want to keep improving and playing at that level next season. I think if you experience that two days ago, you want to be involved next season to show we can do even better. We get that chance in three days but we want to get that chance next season.

“Yesterday was a recovery day so we need to see where a few of our players are. I’ve said that a few of our players are not capable of playing another intense game three days later so, let’s see what the line-up brings.”

Liverpool fans will not display flags and banners on The Kop for the remaining games of the 2025-26 season in protest against ticket price rises.

The club recently announced ticket-price hikes linked to inflation, external for each of the next three seasons.

Slot hopes that the Anfield atmosphere will remain a big positive for Liverpool despite the protests.

He said: “Not only when we go through tough times but I think Anfield has shown in history and since I’m here how important these fans are for us, especially when we play a home game.

“A recent example for us was Galatasaray where we had a tough game away from home where their fans were really loud but Anfield showed what being loud really is.

“I can come up with so many examples I’ve been part of but also in the history of this club. That’s what makes Anfield so special but playing in front of home fans for any club is.

“I’ve always felt support in good and bad times. I hope even in protest [over ticket prices] that they can be as helpful as they have always been for us.”