Gary Neville has backed Arne Slot to remain in charge of Liverpool for next season and oversee a discernible improvement on a chastening 2025/26 campaign.
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Having won the Premier League at a canter a year ago, the Reds have sat outside the Champions League places for much of this term; and while a post-Easter resurgence has now made a top-five finish very likely, they’ve still fallen way short of initial expectations.
Some former LFC players have called for a change in the dugout ahead of the 2026/27 season, but FSG are expected to keep faith in the Dutchman for the time being.
In a Fan Q&A for Sky Sports, Neville was asked if he believes Slot is capable of getting Liverpool ‘back to their best’ over the next 12 months.
He answered: “I think Slot should definitely be the manager next season and they should build around him, try and create a new team.
“Do I think they’ll be back to their best next season? No, I don’t think they’ll win the league next season, but I think they’ll get to a higher level than this season because I think they’ll add to the squad and they’ll refine it.”
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There are parallels between this season and 2020/21 for Liverpool – they went into both campaign as Premier League champions but endured a miserable title defence before enjoying a post-March revival.
Of course, the Reds still have a bit of work to do if they’re to clinch Champions League qualification, but the hope is that – like five years ago – salvaging that much will provide a platform for significant improvement over the subsequent 12 months.
If Slot is indeed retained as LFC head coach into August, it’s imperative that he does so off the back of sensible recruitment in the transfer market, with Mo Salah’s exit leaving a particularly large void to be filled in attack.
At least Liverpool will begin next season with a lesser weight of expectation than they had going into this campaign, when they were many pundits’ firm favourites to retain the title. They mightn’t necessarily be expected to challenge in 2026/27, but that could work in our favour.
There’s been plenty of harsh lessons to take from the past few months, both on and off the pitch. If the Reds act upon those going into the forthcoming campaign, they should at least be better equipped for improvement next term, even if Neville doesn’t see us reclaiming the crown we won last year.