Arne Slot admits Liverpool 'crumbled' as under-fire boss sends message to players

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Arne Slot admitted that his Liverpool side "crumbled" after conceding a second goal at Aston Villa and it was on the players to "show we deserve the fans' support" ahead of the final day.

The Reds were well beaten on Friday night as their top-five rivals tore them apart, scoring three times in the second half to book their own spot in next season's Champions League with a 4-2 win. Slot's side still need to ensure they themselves are playing at Europe's top table next term.

The Dutchman claimed this week that he believes he will be in charge beyond the current campaign as questions continue to be asked of his position. Slot has endured numerous difficulties in his second season at Anfield, experiencing a huge climbdown from his debut year.

Liverpool looked devoid of ideas in the final third, Rio Ngumoha a rare bright spark, and defensively were continually opened up by Villa. Slot has looked lost for answers for months and was left to pick up the pieces once again.

He said: "We had that control for large parts of the game but not after the 2-1, which is why they scored the third. That was a part of the game where we struggled with their pace and intensity.

"We have conceded far too many but we also didn't score enough goals, although two away at Villa Park is not bad, if you'd told me before the game we'd score two I'd say we'd be close to a good result, but we've conceded four and three of them from set pieces."

When the players' mentality was questioned Slot responded: "Overall I don't think the players deserved what you're saying. They were fully in the game, able to maybe to get a result, but after 2-1 we crumbled, we struggled. We did not give up, but we struggled to control their pace, intensity and control."

Liverpool could still have their Champions League spot in doubt come the final day and Slot said: "The only thing we can do now is make a good week - be as well prepared as we can. It is a long week, as always we're hoping our fans will be fully behind us. You saw tonight, as we've experienced so many times at Anfield, how important is it to play when you're all together. But we need to show that we deserve that support."

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Another poor night means that Liverpool have now conceded more than 50 goals in a 38-game Premier League campaign for the first time ever - their tally currently sitting at 52 with one game of the season left.

Slot has somewhat steadied the ship following their blip back in the Autumn, which saw them tumble out of title contention and put their top five spot in doubt. That is yet to be secured and there have been calls for the ex-Feyenoord boss to be moved on, despite delivering the league less than 12 months ago.

Asked about his future, he added: "It's not about me it's about us being disappointed with the result. I spoke yesterday on it and that's enough. Our focus is on the Brentford game and making sure we earn the support of the fans by starting the game aggressive and well. The culmination of the fan support and a good performance will lead us to what we want to achieve and that is qualifying for the Champions League."

Jamie Carragher commented that Liverpool "look like a really average team" and called out the individuals on the pitch as he claimed they have "far too many weak players".

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