Six issues Slot has to address to help get Liverpool's season back on track

NOBODY said it was going to be easy - and those who thought Liverpool would stroll to a second successive Premier League crown this season on the back of their £450million summer transfer splurge had clearly not been paying attention.

- By IAN DOYLE

Not since 1984, when sealing a third successive title, have the Reds successfully defended a trophy of any kind.

Indeed, there was the unusual instance of the immediate breakup of a championship-winning team, with Liverpool boss Arne Slot having to contend with the subsequent inevitable problems of fashioning a new-look team while carrying a greater burden of expectation.

And that, of course, is without taking into consideration the tragic death of Diogo Jota and the ongoing emotional response to the striker’s passing, as was witnessed in moving fashion at Anfield on Saturday with the visit of another of his former clubs Wolves.

Nevertheless, Slot is the first to admit Liverpool have massively underperformed this season, even if a recent mini-revival has steadied the ship, with the narrow weekend victory moving them back into the Champions League places for the first time in almost two months.

Encouragingly, just once in the last 55 years have the Reds been inside the top four going into the New Year round of fixtures only to ultimately finish outside those coveted places.

And even then, the 1980/81 season - when Liverpool went from first to fifth - ended with the considerable consolation of being crowned European champions for the third time.

With the January window opening tomorrow, chatter will inevitable revolve around possible transfers.

However, stepping away from that, there is plenty for Slot to address.

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