Michael Owen has defended Liverpool head coach Arne Slot and described the scrutiny surrounding the Dutchman as “premature”.
The Reds sit outside the top four after falling behind rivals Manchester United and Chelsea but they returned to winning ways with a 4-1 win over Newcastle United. Liverpool have endured a tough season in their title defence and saw their early-season collapse derail the Dutchman’s aspirations of back-to-back league triumphs.
Increasing pressure on Slot has coincided with his struggles as Liverpool head coach after suffering seven defeats and six draws in the Premier League, as well as humbling disappointment to Galatasaray and PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.
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Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso has been touted as a potential successor to the Premier League-winning tactician, after being dismissed by Real Madrid in January.
Owen has dismissed talk of relieving Slot and says Liverpool supporters would have “snapped your hand off” for a fourth-place finish and winning the Premier League following Jurgen Klopp’s exit.
He said: “I suppose, if you look at Chelsea’s history, they’ve been a hiring and firing club, they’ve had a lot of success over the years as well by doing that. Then again, the likes of Arsenal, they had Arsene Wenger over a prolonged period of time, Sir Alex Ferguson, obviously at Manchester United, Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool.
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“Every model is different, Arne Slot, I think it’s very premature to be talking about his role, his job. If you’d asked Liverpool fans when Jürgen Klopp left and said, ‘right, in the next two years you’re going to come fourth in the league and you’re gonna win it.’ Liverpool fans would have snapped your hand off to win one in two years and the other year to qualify for the Champions League.
“I mean that’s amazing because we’ve all seen the drop-offs when a Wenger leaves, when Ferguson leaves. There was no saying that this was going to be smooth sailing.”
Hugo Ekitike rivals Dominik Szoboszlai as one of Liverpool’s standout players this season after his blistering start since joining from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer. The Frenchman made it 10 Premier League goals for the season, and 15 in all competitions, with his double against Newcastle.
Arne Slot won the Premier League in his first season but their defence hasn’t been smooth-sailing.(Image: Getty Images)
Florian Wirtz provided the assist for his first of the evening against the Magpies as the German continues his blistering run of form after a slow start. Owen says it would be premature to relieve the Dutchman of his duties at Anfield.
Owen said: “I think that it’s so premature to win a league in your first year, to play the football that Liverpool did, to have bought the players that they bought – I know they didn’t click in straight away, but everybody can see Ekitike is unbelievable.
“He’s going to one of the best in the world, if he’s not already. Wirtz is coming into his own now, he could be a thrilling play to watch for years to come and it’s not been easy. Obviously, everyone will have their reasons why Liverpool have been inconsistent and all the rest of it this season.
“But I’d be astonished if they didn’t finish in the top five position, losing jobs? I think it’s really premature to be saying that.”
Michael Owen was exclusively to the Liverpool ECHO to discuss running out of mobile data costing small businesses money and Sky Business’s new Roll & Share feature which helps combat losses for small and medium-sized enterprises.