Michael Owen points out risk of Liverpool stance as Arne Slot set to 'start season'
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"I'm told that he is going to start the season, that he is going to get the summer, that he is going to have an influence on the signings and whatever", Owen, ambassador for the popular comparison site Casino.org, told The Mirror.READ MORE: Long-serving Liverpool defender confirms exit as Curtis Jones shows supportREAD MORE: Ibrahima Konate contract latest - imminent decision, stalemate, World Cup issue"I think the whole of Liverpool breathed a sigh of relief when (Erling) Haaland scored that late equalizer (for Manchester City against Bournemouth), with them being in the Champions League next year."Now that's not to say he's not going to be under pressure. I think if you ask the majority of Liverpool fans, I would say they would probably like a change."But they (Liverpool board) have not planned for that, put it that way, they've not planned for a change.
Should the board need to make a managerial change following the return of Premier League action, it could place them in an awkward position, according to Owen.Slot will start the season as Liverpool's manager, Owen has been told(Image: Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)"I'm a little bit torn (on Slot's future)," he said. But this year has been pretty poor."I do feel sorry for him in a way that there have been injuries, and not all signings will be the manager's."But I think the style of play is what is irking the Liverpool fans.
I would be, after winning the league, qualifying for the Champions League, hesitant to pull the trigger just yet.READ MORE: VAR saves Liverpool as Premier League table without technology looks differentREAD MORE: Wayne Rooney and others left with egg on face as Liverpool prediction backfires"However, I understand people that say if things don't change after 10 or 15 games next year, then the season is virtually written off and you have wasted another year. But I would be easily swayed if things started badly next year."Then the problem is obviously all the good managers are snapped up at the start of the year, so then you are potentially looking at leftovers during the season, and that's not a position that Liverpool want to be in."Come November or something, if they are making a change, it's like, where do you go then?Rumors of Slot's potential firing have quieted down, as Liverpool has qualified for the Champions Leaguue(Image: Photo by Michael Regan - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)"It's almost like you'd write a year off and that's the bit that's niggling at the back of my mind."Owen added: "It's almost one of those whereby if Liverpool didn't qualify for the Champions League, as much as nobody wants that, it almost makes the decision for them."At the moment, he's been there two years, he's qualified for the Champions League one year and won the league the other.