Arne Slot: Liverpool boss says there's no guarantee he stays after this season if they miss out on Champions League football

Arne Slot said there are "no guarantees" he will stay on as Liverpool boss if the club fail to qualify for next season's Champions League - but pointed to the club standing by Jurgen Klopp in similar circumstances as a good omen for him.

After Liverpool's 2-1 defeat to Man City at Anfield on Sunday, Carragher claimed it is unlikely that Liverpool will finish in the top-five next season due to the form of the Reds' rivals. Liverpool began this midweek round of fixtures four points behind fifth-placed Chelsea - ahead of a trip to Sunderland on Wednesday.

"That is again a difficult question for me to answer because I do not decide my future," Slot said on whether his future is dependent on Champions League football.

However, Slot then mentioned how Liverpool stood by Klopp at the end of the 2022-23 season, when the Reds finished fifth - behind Erik ten Hag's Manchester United - and missed out on the Champions League football, hinting that it could be a good omen for him.

"The only thing I do know is that it happened before, and recently, and it didn't affect the future of that manager," Slot said, referring to that season under Klopp. "But that doesn't guarantee anything of course."

Slot admits he is enduring by far the most challenging season of his managerial career as he attempts to secure a Champions League spot with Liverpool.

"By a mile," the Dutchman said, when asked if it was his most difficult campaign. "Because all the other seasons I've managed there were only positives. I don't think I've ever lost two games in a row [before].

"It's an exception this season for me, as it is for the players. The players are not used to losing a lot or having a lot of draws.

"It is different with the season we're having now than all the other seasons I've managed where we always did something special - and there's still the possibility that we can do something special this season as well."

On Sunday, Carragher revealed he expects Liverpool to miss out on Champions League qualification through the Premier League.

When asked if he reckons Liverpool will make the Premier League's qualifying places for the Champions League - which is set to be expanded from four positions to five again this season - Carragher replied on Sunday: "No. Right now, I don't.

"They would have to have a huge upturn in form. And the ones above them are in great form.

When you look at the league for Liverpool, it looks like a long road ahead to get into the top five Champions League positions. There's a gap now.

You can make that up, but Liverpool will have to do well in the two cup competitions to save the season.

"The manager has another decision to make on the front four," Carragher added.

"If Liverpool continue the way they are, with a front four and the games end to end, I just don't see how they can make the Champions League positions.

"But no matter what Arne Slot does, the make-up of this squad and team isn't right. It never looks stable, they are never in control.

"There is a long road ahead for Liverpool to make the Champions League places."