Gary Neville disagrees with Arne Slot after Liverpool manager's explanation – 'I've heard'

Neville

Gary Neville has disagreed with Liverpool boss Arne Slot over the Dutchman's assertion that his team are having a transition season.

Pressure is ramping up on Slot as his team continue to struggle after spending a staggering £415million in the summer.

The Reds slipped to a 3-2 stoppage-time defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday - ending their 13-match unbeaten run and stretching their winless run in the Premier League to five games.

Slot's team now sit sixth in the top-flight table and are 14 points off league leaders Arsenal after 23 matches.

Liverpool's struggles this term represent a huge shift from their largely dominant league campaign last season, when Slot's men won the title by 10 points.

Many expected the Reds to kick on after winning a 20th English top-flight title and go on to dominate.

But Slot asserted last week that he, the club's owners Fenway Sports Group, and sporting director Richard Hughes all agree that this season is now a "transition phase" at Anfield.

The Dutchman has called for more patience amid growing pressure on him.

Slot said: "You cannot play attacking football with the ball possession we have and sometimes it is a disadvantage for us that we have that much possession because people expect more from the possession you have

“But if you want to have more ball possession the moment you don't have it, you have to press really high because the moment you go into a low block you don't have possession.

"So everyone at the club, me, ownership, sporting directors and we know what it takes to make the next step in this transition phase. But sometimes a little bit of patience is needed in that as well."

Neville, though, has disagreed with Slot's view. Speaking on Sunday's Gary Neville Podcast - the former England international insists that there can be no talk of a transition season on Merseyside after such a heavy splurge on new players.

The 50-year-old Neville said: “I watched the Liverpool game and I always think when you win a league title that you have a lot of credit in the bank and it takes a lot to erode, it's a hard thing to do.

“Arne Slot has won that title with that group of players last season. I've heard a couple of interviews in the past week from Liverpool people, including the manager, and it was always going to be a transition season. Forget that, I'm not listening to that.

“£450m spent in the summer on all those players was the season you were going to win back-to-back titles.

“Let's not rewrite history on what everyone was saying in the summer, including non-Liverpool people. I'm not saying Liverpool people or fans were getting carried away.”

“But there was definitely a feeling Ekitike, Wirtz, Isak, Frimpong, Kerkez wasn't a transition season transfer window,

“it was adding to a very stable squad of champions; with the likes of Salah and Van Dijk re-signed, with the likes of Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Konate and Alisson. This wasn't a rebuild.

"I've heard transition mentioned a couple of times this week, but I'm not hearing that at all. You can't rewrite history.”

Liverpool will now be looking to build some form again with three consecutive home games to come.

The Reds face Qarabag in the Champions League on Wednesday night before taking on Newcastle United on Saturday, ahead of a tricky fixture against Manchester City eight days later.

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