Arne Slot: Liverpool boss says there's no guarantee he stays after this season

Arne Slot said there are "no guarantees" he will stay on as Liverpool boss if the club fail to qualify for next season's Champions League - but pointed to the club standing by Jurgen Klopp in similar circumstances as a good omen for him.

Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher says Slot will not have a leg to stand on if Liverpool go from Premier League champions to finishing outside of the top-five after £450m was spent last summer - despite the Dutchman delivering the title last term.

After Liverpool's 2-1 defeat to Man City at Anfield on Sunday, Carragher claimed it is unlikely that Liverpool will finish in the top-five next season due to the form of the Reds' rivals. Liverpool began this midweek round of fixtures four points behind fifth-placed Chelsea - ahead of a trip to Sunderland on Wednesday.

"That is again a difficult question for me to answer because I do not decide my future," Slot said on whether his future is dependent on Champions League football.

However, Slot then mentioned how Liverpool stood by Klopp at the end of the 2022-23 season, when the Reds finished fifth - behind Erik ten Hag's Manchester United - and missed out on the Champions League football, hinting that it could be a good omen for him.

"The only thing I do know is that it happened before, and recently, and it didn't affect the future of that manager," Slot said, referring to that season under Klopp. "But that doesn't guarantee anything of course."

Slot: This is my toughest season by a mile

Slot admits he is enduring by far the most challenging season of his managerial career as he attempts to secure a Champions League spot with Liverpool.

"By a mile," the Dutchman said, when asked if it was his most difficult campaign. "Because all the other seasons I've managed there were only positives. I don't think I've ever lost two games in a row [before].

"It's an exception this season for me, as it is for the players. The players are not used to losing a lot or having a lot of draws.

"It is different with the season we're having now than all the other seasons I've managed where we always did something special - and there's still the possibility that we can do something special this season as well."

'A long way back' - Carra expects Liverpool to miss out on CL spots

On Sunday, Carragher revealed he expects Liverpool to miss out on Champions League qualification through the Premier League.

The Sky Sports pundit said it is now "a long way back" for Arne Slot's side to finish in the top five, following their 2-1 defeat at home to Manchester City on Super Sunday.

When asked if he reckons Liverpool will make the Premier League's qualifying places for the Champions League - which is set to be expanded from four positions to five again this season - Carragher replied on Sunday: "No. Right now, I don't.

"They would have to have a huge upturn in form. And the ones above them are in great form.

When you look at the league for Liverpool, it looks like a long road ahead to get into the top five Champions League positions. There's a gap now.

You can make that up, but Liverpool will have to do well in the two cup competitions to save the season.

"The manager has another decision to make on the front four," Carragher added.

"If Liverpool continue the way they are, with a front four and the games end to end, I just don't see how they can make the Champions League positions.

"But no matter what Arne Slot does, the make-up of this squad and team isn't right. It never looks stable, they are never in control.

"There is a long road ahead for Liverpool to make the Champions League places."

Neville: Win at Sunderland and Liverpool back on bike

Carragher's fellow Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was more positive on Liverpool's top-five prospects - but said they must show mental resilience to bounce back from the defeat to City.

"They're now four points behind the top five," he said on The Gary Neville Podcast. "That's not a big gap at all, and there's a long way to go, and they'll have to play most of the teams above them, so they've still got loads of opportunities.

"But there's a question mark over Liverpool. There is a question mark as to whether they will finish in the Champions League places.

"I still think they will, but what they have to do is box that [defeat to City] up very quickly, and chuck it in a corner, and forget about it.

"There'll be some who say it's happening far too often, conceding goals late on. There'll be those who say something's wrong, something's fundamentally wrong, structurally wrong. But I think they just need to try and compose themselves if they can. They need to pull themselves together.

"They've got a lot of experience with Alisson, Alexis Mac Allister, Virgil van Dijk, Mo Salah and Ryan Gravenberch. They've got lots of players who know what to do.

"Can they hold it together? Can they get back on the bike?

"They go to Sunderland next. That is awkward. Go and win there if you really want to tell everybody that you're still going to be in the Champions League. Go and win at Sunderland, which will be a tough place to go.

"Win there emphatically, be professional, keep a clean sheet, and that's where everyone needs to look now for Liverpool."