6 days ago
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Liverpool has been told that the team is in need of some bonding exercises, having struggled to gel off the back of a blockbuster transfer window.
The Reds spent heavily in the off-season, bringing in a host of new faces, and many predicted that they would go on to defend the Premier League title with ease.
However, the season has been anything but easy, with the team currently sitting in seventh position in the standings after losing four top-flight games in a row.
The most recent defeat came against Brentford on Saturday – after which Slot said the performance in the game was one Liverpool's most disappointing since he took charge of the team last year.
While Liverpool's squad is undeniably stacked with talented players, the team lacks the cohesion on the field that it had as it cruised to the title last season.
Former West Ham skipper Nigel Reo-Coker believes the players need to build a bond in order to strengthen their connection in games.
"They are a great team on paper but not a team in terms of the product on the football pitch," said Reo-Coker on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast. "There are too many individual moments.
"When they made these signings it was clear that Liverpool wanted to be spoken about in the same breath as Real Madrid, who create an empire and dominate.
"They went very Hollywood which goes against the culture of the club and the lights have become too bright for some of the players.
"Milos Kerkez is not the same as what we saw at Bournemouth. Trent Alexander-Arnold got criticised for his defensive abilities so I think Kerkez deserves the same because he is not defending.
"I don't see a team. Virgil van Dijk is not the same leader and that is probably because he has no confidence in the back four. He looks very annoyed with Kerkez.
"The only two players who cannot get any criticism are Dominik Szoboszlai because he has been fantastic and goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.
"Slot hasn't helped with putting comments out there about what Liverpool are vulnerable with and some of the decisions he is making with players.
"They need some team bonding. They need to get to know one another on a better level because they don't look like a team."
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