‘Angry’ Carragher in 546-word rant on past-it Van Dijk, Salah as Slot nears ‘untenable’ Liverpool position

Jamie Carragher believes Arne Slot’s position at Liverpool will soon be “untenable” and he’s very, very “angry” with the players who have got them in this mess, hitting out at past-it pair Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah and those who have been “carried” by the Reds legends.

Liverpool fell to there ninth defeat in 12 games on Wednesday, their worst run since 1954, with the 4-1 defeat to PSV Eindhoven at Anfield a new nadir for the Reds in a harrowing stretch after they walked to the Premier League title last term.

Slot is now under significant pressure despite the credit banked through that title win and although Carragher still believes his former side should “stick with” the Dutchman for the time-being, he accepts he’s on thin ice.

READ MORE: Van Dijk, Konate and ‘criminal’ teammate push Slot to the brink in new Liverpool nadir

There’s plenty of blame to go around, and the Reds legend hit out at Van Dijk and Salah, whose “legs have gone”, along with the players who hid behind their quality last season in an “angry” rant on the strife they find themselves in.

“Liverpool’s not a sacking club,” Carragher said on CBS Sports. “Liverpool are different from almost every club in European football – the manager is the king, the manager gets time.

“Liverpool have never sacked a manager who’s won the league. Never in their history … I couldn’t believe at the weekend that people were talking about the manager’s job, when I spoke to Liverpool supporters after losing at home to Nottingham Forest.

“I’ve always been in the camp that you stick with the manager, I’m angry with the players if I’m being totally honest.

“But it does get to a stage with any manager at any club where I always use this word “untenable”, where it feels it can’t go on any longer. I’m not quite there yet personally, in terms of the manager, but I know a lot of supporters will be.

“I’ve had a lot of time to think about it because I knew the game was over long before the final whistle. I think what you’re seeing now is, Liverpool in 2018 under Jurgen Klopp sort of starts this journey … we’re now, what, seven or eight years later, and the catalyst for that run was Alisson, Van Dijk, and Salah.

“Alisson’s injured a lot now, he doesn’t play so much. But you watch Van Dijk now, not the same player, and Mo Salah looks like his legs have gone. I don’t like criticising them, and I think some of the criticism of them this season as players has been harsh.

READ MORE: Van Dijk pathetic vs PSV as Liverpool captain comically ignores own pre-game message

“You always look for leaders in your team to step up when things are not going well. And I’ve been critical of Salah off the pitch, I want him to come out and do an interview tonight and speak to the Liverpool supporters about what the players are going to do, about what’s going on in the dressing room, giving the supporters hope that things are going to improve.

“But I don’t like criticising them on the pitch because they’re absolute legends for what they’ve done, and their legs have just gone. Van Dijk now can’t help other players, he needs help himself, and that just means he’s a normal centre-back like I was, maybe he’s not super human right now.”

“I look at some of the others…step up…can you only play well when they play well?” Carragher added. “Their seasons last season were off the scale and everyone else enjoyed that, winning the league, they’re all league champions, they’ve got that on their CV, but when they’re not there, where are they, where are the others?

“That’s why I get angry about the talk of the manager, but it’s inevitable, something could happen, but in terms of the players and the way they’re performing now, that is not acceptable for Liverpool Football Club.

“I actually think and maybe I thought this a little bit last season – are some of them good enough if Liverpool want to win the biggest trophies? You saw against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup (final), you saw against PSG away from home last season, woeful performances, and they’ve been carried by some of the greatest players the club have ever had.

“This is maybe a snap shot of the future for Liverpool when Mo Salah moves on, when Virgil van Dijk moves on, and when Alisson moves on.”