Slot Offers No Excuses and Pledges to Plot Way From Slump

Liverpool's head coach declared he had to “examine my own performance” after the Reds suffered a 6th loss in seven Premier League matches at home to Nottingham Forest and affirmed he would discover a solution out of the champions’ poor run.

Forest, in the relegation zone prior to the match, produced the largest victory at Anfield in their history as the Merseyside club slipped to an eighth defeat in 11 fixtures in every tournament. The British record signing, Alexander Isak, was once more unnoticeable and the home side argued the defender's first goal should have been ruled out for comparable grounds to Virgil van Dijk’s chalked-off goal versus Manchester City prior to the international break. But the manager admitted the buck rested with him and offered no alibis.

“Nobody wishes to hear me now talking about refereeing decisions if you are defeated 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest,” said the Reds' boss. “I should look at myself initially and my team, but it does show you how a goal can alter the flow of a match. Before I was just hoping for us to net a strike. Afterwards we barely generated any chances.

“Of course there is a way out, especially with the quality footballers we have. No matter if you win or are beaten when you look back you are always considering: ‘Where can we improve, where can we adjust?’ but that is different from doubting yourself.

“I want to emphasise I am responsible for the present losses. You are answerable when you are winning but also liable when you are losing. I can never provide sufficient excuses for us to have the outcomes we have. That is far from good enough and I am responsible for that.”

The team's performance fell apart as the coach made several offensive substitutions when chasing the match. “It was the same on the road at Forest the previous campaign,” he remarked. “I substituted the French defender out and brought on the Portuguese forward and he found the net immediately to make it 1-1. Then it was brave, currently it’s likely unwise.”

The Anfield side last lost back-to-back at Anfield Premier League fixtures by Nottingham Forest in the sixties. The last time they lost consecutive league games by a three-goal scoreline was in 1965.

The manager said: “It was extremely poor. Competing on home soil, losing 3-0 regardless of which opponent you encounter is a very, very bad result. Unexpected if you consider the opening 30 minutes of the match. I did not witness us creating so many chances in the opening half-hour maybe the entire campaign, and the first time they arrived in our box they found the back of the net.

“It did not happen against Manchester City, but in every other fixture we have been the controlling team and were capable to create chances. Lately it is nearly consistently that we miss our opportunities and the ones we concede find the net.”

Christine Mitchell
Christine Mitchell

A wildlife biologist with over a decade of experience studying sloths in Central America, passionate about conservation and environmental education.