Rio Ferdinand has responded to Liverpool fans in light of the recent treatment of under-fire manager Arne Slot.
Liverpool have found themselves on a disappointing run of form this season, suffering a number of shock defeats since the new campaign began back in August.
The Reds once again fell short this past weekend, suffering a 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, stretching their winless run to five in the Premier League.
There has been growing noise that Slot could potentially be heading towards a shock exit from Anfield, despite winning the Premier League in his first season as manager, and Liverpool fans made their frustrations clear on more than one occasion.
Speaking on his own podcast after the recent loss, Ferdinand sent a brutal response to Reds fans who have been criticising their manager, claiming the Dutchman deserves to be given more time to prove himself.
“Liverpool fans are going nuts. In the last thirty-something years, how many league titles have Liverpool won? Two. Klopp won one and Slot won one.
He’s won [the league] in his first year and then, a few months later, he’s having a bit of a bad spell and [Liverpool fans] have the cheek to go ‘get out of my club’ after he brought you your second Premier League in the last 25-30 years. I can’t get my head around it, I can’t.
No matter what you think about his playing style, I keep hearing them — ‘it’s boring the way he’s playing’ — he won the league last year, is there a bit of respect to be given for that, or a bit of time for that? Surely that buys a bit of time, especially if he’s spent £500 million.”
Liverpool will have their sights set on bouncing back from that shock defeat to Bournemouth when they clash with Qarabag in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday evening.
