Liverpool's Manager Offers No Excuses and Vows to Plot Way From Slump
Liverpool's head coach declared he had to “examine my own performance” after the Reds endured a 6th loss in 7 English top-flight matches on their own turf to Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would find a solution from the champions’ poor run.
Forest, in the relegation zone prior to the match, produced the biggest win at Liverpool's stadium in their club records as the Merseyside club slipped to an eighth loss in 11 matches in all competitions. The British record signing, the Swedish striker, was once more unnoticeable and the home side argued the defender's opener ought to have been ruled out for comparable grounds to Virgil van Dijk’s disallowed effort against City before the national team pause. But Slot admitted the buck stopped with him and made no excuses.
“Nobody wants to listen to me now speaking about refereeing decisions if you lose 3-0 in your own stadium to Nottingham Forest,” stated the Reds' boss. “I ought to examine my own role first and my squad, but it does show you how a goal can change the momentum of a game. Before I was just waiting for us to net a goal. Afterwards we hardly generated any chances.
“Of course there is a way out, particularly with the quality players we have. No matter if you win or lose when you look back you are always thinking: ‘Where can we improve, in what aspects can we adjust?’ but that is something else from questioning yourself.
“I wish to stress I am accountable for the current defeats. You are responsible when you are winning but also liable when you are defeated. I can never provide enough excuses for us to have the outcomes we have. That is not acceptable and I am responsible for that.”
The team's performance unravelled as the coach introduced multiple attacking changes when pursuing the game. “It was the identical on the road at Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I substituted the French defender out and brought on the Portuguese forward and he scored immediately to make it 1-1. At that time it was brave, currently it’s probably unwise.”
The Anfield side last lost back-to-back at Anfield league fixtures by Nottingham Forest in 1963. The most recent occasion they lost consecutive top-flight games by a 3-0 scoreline was in 1965.
Slot commented: “It was extremely poor. Playing at home, conceding 3-0 no matter which opponent you face is a terrible outcome. Unexpected if you consider the first half-hour of the game. I haven’t seen us producing so many chances in the initial 30 minutes perhaps the whole season, and the initial occasion they arrived in our box they found the back of the net.
“It wasn’t against Manchester City, but in every other game we have been the dominant team and were able to generate chances. Recently it is almost consistently that we fail to convert our chances and the attempts we allow find the net.”