Arne Slot pressure is inevitable - but Liverpool already knows the best man for the job

Virgil van Dijk took a deep breath and sighed audibly before stating his response. The Liverpool captain, speaking to reporters after his side had lost 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest, was as confused as anyone else.

"I think the first half an hour was not bad at all, actually," he said. "But after we conceded a goal — up until half-time — we were too rushed and nervous in the way we played. We were trying to rush things, and the way we started the second half was unacceptable."

Hours later, Van Dijk was to arrive home. There, he said, he would consider what steps needed to be taken next, but he was unequivocal in directing the blame not just for this defeat, but the dire Liverpool run in general, away from Arne Slot.

The players are letting Slot down, he admitted. Individual and collective performances have not been good enough, and for a team that was celebrating becoming Premier League champions only 12 games ago, it simply isn't acceptable.

Finding a solution to Liverpool's poor run of form has been of the highest priority for a number of weeks now, but so far, Slot, his staff, and his players have found no answers.

Wins against Aston Villa and Real Madrid were excellent, but they proved to be a false dawn. Instead, it seems, any team that targets the lack of physicality among the Liverpool ranks will inevitably come out on top.

No one is suggesting that things can go on like this forever, but the hope for Liverpool must be that results turn quickly.

As the former Reds man Stephen Warnock pointed out to Liverpool.com this morning, though, "If he continues this run of form and they don't win games... what happens if they lose their next five? It could definitely happen with the way Liverpool are playing."

The problems are mounting and the solutions seem at least as far away as they did a few weeks ago. Chiefly, Alexander Isak is no closer to looking like a $169 million (£125 million) striker and Florian Wirtz, now injured, is yet to get going. Ibrahima Konate, meanwhile, is only ever one mistake away from a confidence meltdown and Joe Gomez doesn't appear to be ready to step in.

There have been calls to fire Slot and the fact that it is even a conversation at this stage of the season tells its own story. As frustrated fans streamed out of Anfield on Saturday, there would no doubt have been a few saying his time was up.

In the cold light of day, though, Liverpool won't be so hasty. And there are several reasons why he remains the best man for the job — just as he was last season, when he collected the league title.

Though it is clearly yet to come to fruition, there was a clear plan in the summer when Liverpool spent around $600M on new players. It was with Slot in mind that such big sums were committed.

In the long term, a team with a fully firing Wirtz and a properly fit Isak will be transformed. Those two players alone would be enough to make a massive difference at their peak, and yet neither is anywhere close to that right now, not really through any fault of Slot's.

In the short term, despite the hefty outlay, Liverpool has gone backwards. As it stands, Luis Diaz would have been a better option than Wirtz, for instance — in time, though, that won't be the case.

Likewise, Darwin Nunez would be more useful against PSV on Wednesday than a struggling Isak. Quite obviously, however, the Swede will eventually prove himself to be a substantial upgrade.

That goes for all the summer signings: while right now they might not look good value, patience is required.

Perhaps had the deal for Marc Guehi been finalized, that would have gone some way to tightening up the Liverpool backline (if nothing else by adding to the competition for places). Milos Kerkez, meanwhile, when the 22-year-old finds his feet, was the best in the top flight last season and will show that too.

The bottom line is, Liverpool inarguably should not be playing as dismally as it is, no matter the mitigations, and should that continue for another few weeks, the questions around Slot will only grow — especially if he doesn't start finding some solutions.

Until Isak looks closer to full fitness, for example, he should be looking to Hugo Ekitike. That feels like one obvious fix.

Slot was the man to win the Premier League title at a canter last season, though, and his side still looks well-placed to go far in Europe. Even if there was another realistic candidate to replace him — and there isn't — Liverpool would be better off sticking with him.