Didi Hamann disagrees with Paul Scholes as Arne Slot told how to save Liverpool job

Paul Scholes believes Arne Slot must win the Champions League to save his job as Liverpool head coach, but Didi Hamann doesn't think the bar is quite so high

Didi Hamann has given his verdict on what Arne Slot must to do keep his job at Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

Didi Hamann believes Liverpool head coach Arne Slot can save his job by having a decent run in the Champions League as well as securing qualification for next season's edition of the competition.

Slot has come under scrutiny this term as a result of Liverpool's disappointing title defense, which saw the team effectively surrender the crown before the halfway mark in the campaign. Liverpool is currently 15 points off league leader Arsenal, but is in a strong position in the Champions League after making it through to the last 16 by finishing third in the league phase.

“Arne Slot needs to win at least one knockout round, probably two, in the Champions League and then finish in the top five because, financially, it will be a huge blow to Liverpool [to miss out on Champions League qualification]," Hamann told Thunderpick.

“Obviously, with AI, you can do wonderful things these days. If you put the Liverpool squad into the system and say, 'How likely is it to finish in the top five?' You probably would have got 98 or 99 percent.

“If you miss out, financially, it's a bad situation for the club.

"I think for Slot to have a chance to be there next season, he's got to finish in the top five, and maybe get to the semi-final of the Champions League.

Arne Slot is under pressure at Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

“But the question the board has to ask is, 'Are we capable of winning the league with him next season?' There's quite a gap now.

"Then you can say, 'Well, can we make up 20 points or 25 points on Arsenal and City next season?'

“I think that's the question because expectations rose with the players they brought in. Everybody thought we'd definitely compete for the league because we're just too good to not win games. In the Champions League, you need a bit of luck.

“With a bit of luck, we might be in business as well. So overall, it's been very disappointing. I think the next three months will decide what's going to happen.”

Hamann's verdict on what Slot must do to keep his job seems slightly more achievable than what Paul Scholes thinks, with the former Manchester United player suggesting that Liverpool must win the Champions League for Slot to keep his job.

“If you lose three or four games on the trot, you’re under pressure,” Scholes said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.

“Of course you are at a club like Liverpool. The one thing he’s probably got to do now is win the Champions League.

“That might be the only thing that saves his job. I can’t see him doing it though. I can’t see him doing it.”