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<\/p>\nFormer Liverpool striker Emile Heskey urges the club to stick by Arne Slot and challenges everyone at Anfield to “stand up and be counted”<\/p>\n
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 14: Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion on February 14, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield\/Getty Images)(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Emile Heskey says Arne Slot and his players need to “stand up and be counted” as Champions League-chasing Liverpool enter a critical period in their qualification quest.<\/p>\n
And the former striker, who scored 22 times as the Reds<\/a> won the UEFA Cup, League Cup<\/a> and FA Cup<\/a> in 2001, thinks Slot deserves the full backing at Anfield<\/a> for what he achieved last year when he won the Premier League<\/a> title.<\/p>\n Slot has come under fire in his sophomore season on Merseyside, with the champions losing eight league games so far, which is double the amount from the entirety of last term when two came after the title had been secured in late April.<\/p>\n As a result of the under-performance, Liverpool head into the final months in sixth behind Chelsea in fifth and Manchester United, who currently occupy the fourth Champions League<\/a> spot in the table.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Alexis Mac Allister seeking clarification on Liverpool future after Manchester United transfer interest<\/a>READ MORE: ‘Gutted’ Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk gives Wataru Endo update – ‘I had a similar injury’<\/a><\/p>\n Fifth is expected to be enough to secure a place in next season’s European Cup, however, and Heskey challenged the Reds to put together a sequence that will secure their participation in the continent’s most lucrative competition.<\/p>\n And the former England man also launched a defence of Slot, who he feels has earned the right to coach his way out of a difficult campaign at Anfield.<\/p>\n “I think they should stick with Slot,” Heskey told aceoods.com<\/a>. “You\u2019ve got to remember we were all saying how good the in-game changes were and we lauded him for it.<\/p>\n “Making changes at half-time, pulling players off the pitch, taking risks, making tough decisions and [the changes] coming off. We can\u2019t all of a sudden jump on someone\u2019s back when they have a dip. There\u2019s got to be consistency and stick with him.<\/p>\n \u201cBut he needs to know he\u2019s under pressure and he\u2019s at a club where it\u2019s not if we win, it\u2019s we\u2019ve got to win trophies. When I was at the club it was you couldn’t lose two games on the spin, having come from Leicester where you lose five.<\/p>\n “In that environment you can\u2019t lose two on the bounce and they\u2019re telling you that. That is pressure and you\u2019ve got to be able to deal with that pressure.<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been seasons in the past where competing for the Premier League title was normal and if it wasn\u2019t for a fantastic Manchester City team they would have won more. They know how to do it, so now\u2019s the time to stand up and be counted.<\/p>\n \u201cSlot knows he has to win trophies and regardless of whether you\u2019re at Liverpool, Leeds or West Ham, you\u2019re ten games away from being sacked. It\u2019s sad to say but it\u2019s common knowledge that teams are trigger happy.\u201d<\/p>\n Heskey, who made 223 appearances for the Reds following a club-record \u00a311m move from Leciester in 1999, added: \u201cWhenever you look at results, you generally look back at what has been spent and what has been allocated to the squad.<\/p>\n “What does the squad look like? And you judge off that and if you judge off those metrics then it\u2019s not been good.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality is that Liverpool<\/a> should be challenging for the title. But then you look at the likes of Wirtz and Ekitike and Isak who have just come into the club and it\u2019s difficult to make a difference straight away. It\u2019s not an excuse for them because this is their job.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s their job to perform. I know they will all come good but it has been a very tough watch at this moment in time seeing them underperform.\u201d<\/p>\n FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE! All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo’s dedicated LFC Facebook page<\/a><\/p>\n