Arne Slot has claimed his critics ‘aren’t listening properly’ and says they want to make is comments ‘ridiculous’ after an answer he gave sparked a backlash this week.
On Tuesday, Slot said: ‘Maybe the reason why we won the league last season is that we had to play Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16. As you know, they beat us, and we had every time a week to prepare for our next game. Maybe that has helped us.’
It was interpreted by plenty of fans as the Liverpool boss being pleased with elimination from last season’s Champions League to boost the Premier League title chances.
Steven Gerrard agreed with furious supporters, saying on TNT Sport: ‘The simple reason is, they were 15 points clear. In my opinion they had the league wrapped up by that point.
‘To say that helped them is a body blow for the fans really, because the fans have been on the journey.’
But after Slot’s side demolished Qarabag to secure their place in the Champions League last-16 on Thursday, he addressed the issue head on.
Arne Slot says his words this week that sparked a fan backlash were taken out of context
When asked Arne Slot asked if PSG comments were taken out of context a little, he replied: ‘Not a little bit, a lot. I have always tried to be myself and give long answers in a different language. Maybe you miss a certain word. I am not gonna change, not gonna say yes or no only, this is who I am.’
He explained: ‘Maybe I can come back to something I said.
‘I said that it might – might, I used to word might but apparently not everybody is listening properly – have helped us that we lost against Paris Saint-Germain.
‘I was not happy losing against Paris Saint-Germain, I wanted to go all the way with that team; that team was strong enough to win the Champions League as well. And we were by far the best team in the league, so we completely deserved to win the league.
‘But if you are the best team in the league, then you need those players available. This season shows that if we have to play many games, sometimes you can get injuries as well.
‘And that’s what I meant: we did not face injuries after we went out against Paris Saint-Germain.
‘Some people wanted to make my world even more ridiculous, saying that we were 15 points clear – yes, we were maybe in one moment 15 points clear, but most of the time we were eight points clear.
‘If you then face a situation of three, four, five injuries, it might have been more difficult for us.’
Steven Gerrard said Arne Slot’s Champions League comments were a ‘blow’ to Liverpool fans
He continued: ‘But we were the best team in the league and we could have won the Champions League as well.
‘We would have loved to go to the next round last season, but this club, it’s harder if we have injuries than the clubs we are in competition with.
‘That was the point I was trying to make but people picked it up in the wrong way, so maybe next time I should be a bit more clear in what I meant.’
Slot has been under increasing pressure this season due to uninspiring performances and patchy league form meaning the Reds are now scrambling to qualify for a place in next season’s Champions League.
Liverpool will look to keep their momentum from the Qarabag win when they face Newcastle at Anfield on Saturday.
