Peter Crouch gives Arne Slot breathing room as pressure builds on Liverpool boss

Arne Slot is enduring a tough second season at Liverpool, but former striker Peter Crouch does not think the Reds' head coach is at any immediate risk of losing his job

Peter Crouch spoke about Arne Slot's future at Liverpool(Image: 2025 Ben Roberts - Danehouse)

Peter Crouch does not think that Arne Slot will be fired if Liverpool fails to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Slot is enduring a tough second season as Liverpool's head coach – domestically, at least – with the Reds facing a fight to qualify for Europe's premier club competition. The situation is a far cry from the one that Slot found himself in 12 months ago, when Liverpool was well on the way to winning the title.

Many observers have suggested that Slot's job will be on the line if Liverpool falls short of the top-five finish that will almost certainly be enough to secure a spot in the Champions League next term, but Crouch doesn't feel that way.

“It’ll be a disappointing season if Liverpool miss out on the Champions League places," Crouch told Paddy Power.

"Liverpool isn’t the kind of club that would sack a manager because of that, but Arne Slot will need to start next season well.

"When you win the league in your first season, you deserve some grace. There needs to be more promising signs.

“Finishing outside the top four or five with no trophy is a really disappointing season without a doubt.

'Do I think Slot would get the sack for it? Probably not."

Arne Slot is enduring a tough second season as Liverpool's head coach(Image: Getty Images)

Crouch's view is markedly different from that of former Manchester United player Paul Scholes, who feels that Slot might have to win the Champions League this season in order to avoid being fired.

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

“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.”

Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann, meanwhile, suggested that 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.

Speaking to Thunderpick, Hamann said: "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."