Midfield and defence look shaky, while Isak's impact is a mystery to Souness

ARNE SLOT was conspicuous only by his absence at the North West Football Writers Association awards on Sunday.

- By PAUL GORST

The Liverpool boss was named the Premier League's best for last season's title-winning term but was not present to collect the award in Manchester.

It speaks to how quickly things have unravelled for Slot.

There was no official explanation given for his absence but a run of eight defeats in the last 11 - and six from the seven in the Premier League - might be the best place to begin the speculation.

It was a wise move to sidestep an event celebrating last year's achievement the day after a dismal 3-0 defeat to a Nottingham Forest team who were in the relegation zone prior to kickoff.

The problems are multiplying for Slot and his players right now; they are bereft of confidence and quality has deserted so many of those who sauntered to the title last term.

While Fenway Sports Group have proven themselves as some of the more patient owners around, there are major question marks about how this can be turned round.

Liverpool have kept just four clean sheets since the title was confirmed as theirs in late April and only rock-bottom Wolves' 41 is worse than the champions' tally of 39 goals conceded across Europe's top-five leagues since May.

The caveat there, of course, is that Slot and his players had already done the hard yards by winning the club's 20th championship against Tottenham the previous month.