Liverpool Echo

If Tottenham Hotspur face the drop this season then Liverpool could take advantage and swoop for one player

Should Tottenham Hotspur face the drop this season, Liverpool must make a move for Dutch defender Micky van de Ven. Spurs currently sit in the relegation zone, two points off West Ham in 17th, after a disastrous campaign.

Following Igor Tudor's haphazard tenure and subsequent sacking, Roberto De Zerbi has been tasked with keeping Spurs afloat. The Italian will also have to convince the club's best players that their future remains at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

While not to the same degree, Arne Slot's side have also struggled this season with an inconsistent and injury-hit backline playing its part. A deal has already been pre-agreed for Jeremy Jacquet to sign from Rennes ahead of the 2026/27 season, but additional defensive reinforcements are still needed.

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Ibrahima Konate's unresolved future is a concern, Joe Gomez could leave this summer, while Virgil van Dijk will be 35 come the start of next season. Van de Ven, who has been linked heavily with the Reds, has a contract with Spurs until 2029.

According to talkSPORT, the club have slapped a £100 million price tag on the defender. Yet if De Zerbi's team were to drop into the Championship, the 25-year-old would no doubt be available for a knock-down price.

Is the Spurs ace worth splashing out on? The jury's out after Van de Ven's inconsistent season with Spurs. But ex-Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann thinks Liverpool need a player with the pace of Van de Ven.

He said: "We know in football how important pace is going forward... I think Micky van de Ven is one of the quickest, if not the quickest, in the Premier League. So, yeah, he'd certainly be one who's on the radar."

Former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood also thinks it's the logical move for all parties. "Micky van de Ven is the obvious choice for Liverpool this summer in that left centre-back position," he said.

There are doubts, however. Ex-Liverpool star Dean Saunders has questioned whether Van de Ven possesses the intelligence to make it at Anfield. Past Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has also doubted Van de Ven's suitability for the Reds.

"When speaking about Micky van de Ven, he is lightning quick, but I have played against defenders like him," Saunders told aceodds.com. "I have played against the quickest centre-backs in the world, but it was never a problem for me. Being a top defender is all about your brain.

"It doesn't matter being quick if you don't have the brain. It helps you recover from mistakes, but you shouldn't make those mistakes to start. I am just not sure if Van de Ven's football brain is that good and if he can read the game. At this level, everything is about speed of thought."

Van de Ven is remarkably, and officially, the fastest player in Premier League history, clocking a top speed of 37.38 against Brentford in January 2024.

While he has struggled this season, you would be hard pressed to find a Spurs player who hasn't. The Dutch international's aerial duels stand at a respectable 53.62 per cent, while his passing accuracy is a formidable 89 per cent, meaning there would be a lot that Slot could work with.

His seven goals in all competitions this season is one more than Liverpool's top-scoring defender Virgil Van Dijk and the Spurs centre-back would offer the benefit of having a left-footed central defender in the team.

Van de Ven himself also seems to be fond of his potential suitors. Speaking in June 2023, shortly before his £43m move to Spurs, he told Voetbal International: "It's true that the director (then Liverpool sporting director Jorg Schmadtke, previously worked for Wolfsburg) went there and I know that Liverpool followed me before. But at the moment, I don't know anything. Do I think Liverpool is a nice club? Naturally."

Former Premier League star Sean Davis has lifted the lid on his proposed move from Fulham to Everton

Former Fulham midfielder Sean Davis has revealed that he had a medical at Everton before making his “nightmare” transfer to Tottenham Hotspur.

Clapham-born Davis, who made his first team debut for Fulham as a 69th minute substitute in a 3-0 win over Cambridge United in Division Three (now League Two), made 198 appearances for the Cottagers and scored 20 goals, becoming the only player to represent in the club in all four divisions. Although he did not turn out against Everton in David Moyes’ first match in charge, a 3-1 win for the Blues at Goodison Park on March 16, 2002, he did catch the Glaswegian gaffer’s eye in both of the sides’ subsequent meetings the following season.

Davis turned out for the full 180 minutes in Everton’s 2-0 victory at Goodison on September 28, 2002, when Joseph Yobo made his debut for the hosts who triumphed through a brace of goals in the final minute of the first half through Kevin Campbell and Thomas Gravesen and then Fulham’s win by the same scoreline at Craven Cottage on May 3 through a couple of own goals by Alan Stubbs and goalkeeper Richard Wright.

That form convinced Moyes to agree a £5.2million deal to bring him to Merseyside in August 2003 that would have made the Londoner, who was called up for England that year but did not play, his most expensive purchase and the second most expensive buy in Everton history at the time after Nick Barmby. However, the Blues pulled the plug due to Davis’ knee injury and when he did leave Fulham the following summer it was a move across the capital to Spurs where he only made 17 appearances.

Everton News quote the now 46-year-old as telling the Undr The Cosh podcast: “I regret leaving Fulham, if I’m honest. I would have loved to have been a one club man.

OPINION

“Cookie (Chris Coleman) stitched me up there, he rang me. Everton wanted me at the time.

“I was going to go, I was moving to Everton. I had a medical and everything, but Cookie went: ‘I can’t sell you, the fans would lynch me, the only way you can go is to put in a transfer request.’

“Steve Finnan had left, Louis Saha had left, it wasn’t that I’d had my head turned for the money, it was more, was I going to get this opportunity again to test myself? Can I play Champions League football or for teams that are fighting for stuff?

“So, eventually I went to Cookie: ‘Okay, I’ll put in the transfer request, I’ll be the bad guy.

“Then I failed the medical at Everton, I had to come back and we played Everton six weeks later. I ended up going to Spurs and that was a nightmare.”

Davis subsequently turned out in the Premier League for Portsmouth, he was part of their squad when they won the 2008 FA Cup final but did not play; and Bolton Wanderers before finishing off his playing days with a short loan spell with Bristol City in the Championship in the 2011/12 season. Last September, BBC Sport featured him in an article on former footballers who had lost millions in investments, along with former Everton pair Craig Short and Tommy Johnson.

The loan deal for Merlin Rohl contained an obligation for it to become permanent in the event Everton avoided relegation - something that has now been achieved

Merlin Rohl is now expected to become an Everton player in the summer.

Results at the weekend made the Blues mathematically safe from relegation from the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur unable to catch them after their stoppage time heartbreak at the hands of Brighton and Hove Albion.

Everton’s top flight survival is the condition that should trigger the conversion of Rohl’s loan move from Freiburg into a permanent one. The deal is understood to be worth around £18m.

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Rohl has, at times, impressed behind the scenes since his summer deadline day move from the Bundesliga. But a series of injuries have curtailed his ability to have a serious impact on David Moyes’ first team.

There have been good performances, most notably in the valuable away wins at Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, victories secured with depleted squads during a winter in which Moyes was without a host of key stars.

But the return of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from injury and Idrissa Gueye from the Africa Cup of Nations, combined with the impressive form of James Garner, have limited the 23-year-old’s chances.

Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has been linked with a summer move to Liverpool as Spurs battle against relegation

Micky van de Ven lacks the game intelligence to succeed at Liverpool according to former Reds striker Dean Saunders.

Tottenham Hotspur defender Van de Ven is often praised for his recovery pace when fending off attackers, but ex-Reds and Wales forward Saunders feels that top defenders don't get themselves into such desperate situations, citing former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand as a prime example of someone who perfected the art.

Van de Ven has been linked with a summer move to Anfield as Spurs continue to battle against relegation, but Saunders feels Liverpool may need to look elsewhere.

"When speaking about Micky van de Ven, he is lightning quick, but I have played against defenders like him," Saunders told aceodds.com.

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"I have played against the quickest centre-backs in the world, but it was never a problem for me. Being a top defender is all about your brain.”

"It doesn't matter being quick if you don't have the brain. It helps you recover from mistakes, but you shouldn't make those mistakes to start.

"I want to bring in Man United's former centre half pairing as an example. When Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic played, Ferdinand always came off the pitch with no mud on his shorts.

"Ferdinand would read the situation and get there before the striker, and I am just not sure if Van de Ven's football brain is that good and if he can read the game. At this level, everything is about speed of thought.

"How can I get the ball before Erling Haaland? His brain is fantastic, and I just don't see it with Van de Ven. Ferdinand used to get the ball before me and other defenders were running after me. I am really not sure about Van de Ven and his brain.”

Saunders admits that Liverpool face a tough act in eventually replacing Virgil van Dijk, whose contract expires next summer, and Ibrahima Konate, whose current deal runs out at the end of this season. Borussia Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck has been linked with a move to Merseyside along with Van de Ven, but Saunders says the challenge for anyone joining the Reds will be a steep one.

“Well, to be honest, I have not seen enough of Nico Schlotterbeck," he added. "I just have to state that if you are playing as a centre half for Liverpool, you have to be one of the best in your position in the world. It is not enough just to be a good player.

"It will be nearly impossible to replace Van Dijk and I actually think Konate is a very good player as well. Of course, he has suffered, but anyone would suffer if they have had seven different right backs playing aside you."

Tottenham Hotspur boss Igor Tudor has spoken about a viral moment before the draw with Liverpool at Anfield last week

Tottenham Hotspur interim boss Igor Tudor has clarified that he did not make a mistake after a viral moment on the touchline of the draw with Liverpool at Anfield. The Reds were forced to settle for a point in their 1-1 stalemate last weekend in the Premier League, but a moment on the touchline went viral across social media.

As Tudor made his way down the tunnel, he went on to greet Tottenham’s team manager and player liaison officer Allan Dixon, who is also the brother-in-law of ex-Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.

Many on social media believed the Spurs boss initially thought it was Liverpool head coach Arne Slot, with the moment going viral across social media in the days that followed the draw at Anfield.

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Tudor has now explained why it was not a mistake on his part that day against Liverpool, with the Tottenham boss also explaining how he has given Dixon a nickname related to Reds head coach Slot after the moment.

"What happened was my son, who is 20 years old, said 'in Croatia everyone is laughing at you because you made this mistake'.

"I said, ‘What mistake?’ You do know who the guy is?’. ‘No, I don’t know’. I said, 'it’s Allan Dixon, I’m spending all my days together with him'.

“So I came out [at Anfield] and he’s standing in front of my bench. What other coach can be there in front of it? It’s my training zone. He was there, I came to him to make a joke. If you understand, I came from this side (Dixon's right), I touched him and went to the other side. When he turned I was not surprised, I was laughing.

"I can imagine in Croatia because maybe they don’t know who Allan Dixon is. But in England do they think I don’t recognise the guy I spend every day, ten hours, with?! I come out and don’t know he is? It was a little bit ridiculous."

Tudor went on to say that he and Dixon went on to recreate the moment on purpose before Tottenham’s Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid earlier this week.

He said: "Now [against Atletico] we did it on purpose to make a joke, because from now on I call him ‘Arne’! It’s not Allan, it’s Arne!

"But this is how it works, this is 2026, it’s about news, to have fun. It’s part of the work of today, but sometimes it's really ridiculous. I don't understand it, but you need to invent some news."

The pundits have been having their say on Arne Slot after fresh questions were asked of Liverpool's Premier League title-winning boss following the 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday

After boos rang out at Anfield following Liverpool’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, speculation has grown surrounding the future of head coach Arne Slot, who led the Reds to their 20th league title last year.

While Slot appears to retain the backing of the ownership, pundits have had their say after the draw with the Premier League’s most out-of-form side left his team two points outside the top four.

Jamie Carragher said there was a “big shift” in the Anfield crowd’s attitude towards their manager at the weekend.

Talking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, the Liverpool great said: “The booing at the end, that was proper booing. That was a really unhappy and disgruntled fanbase and I think it is going to be very difficult to get them back.

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“Once you lose that crowd, it is very difficult.”

After Manchester United beat Aston Villa earlier on in the day, a win for the Reds would’ve seen them return to the top four. Instead, another poor result has put their hopes of Champions League qualification in further jeopardy.

Former Everton and Man United striker Wayne Rooney said on his BBC show: "I don’t know what the board’s objectives were at the start of the season, but obviously as champions, he [Slot] would be expected to finish in the Champions League spots.

"I think there will be conversations if he doesn’t and see what happens from there. Liverpool have been inconsistent this season. There have been many new signings, but other players are not playing as well as in previous seasons.”

The Reds face Galatasaray at Anfield in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie tomorrow (Wednesday), looking to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit.

After Saturday's Premier League trip to Brighton & Hove Albion, they have a FA Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester City at the Etihad after the international break.

And Kop legend Robbie Fowler thinks winning a trophy this season is a necessity for the defending Premier League champions.

Speaking on Premier League Productions, he said: “The problem with them winning the league last year is that everyone's expectations are going to rise and if you're not challenging, expectations are going to drop.

“It's a must they get into the Champions League. But I think they have genuinely got to win a competition.

“We'll be stood here towards the end of the season and if they haven't got any of them, questions will be asked about the manager again.”

Fowler also believes that the Spurs match stands as a missed opportunity for Liverpool.

“They had a good chance to put a bit of a stamp on their own season, get into that top four and stay there,” he explained. “But, again, they have faltered.”

After winning the league last term and spending north of £400m the following summer, it’s fair to say Liverpool’s title defence hasn’t gone to plan.

And Roy Keane claimed Slot gave his players too much downtime after securing the title with four games to spare.

Speaking after the Tottenham match, the ex-Man United captain said: "They were partying with four weeks to go, there were celebrations after every league game. It is Liverpool Football Club, are you not expected to win league titles? When you do, enjoy it but back it up next year.

“They've been bad champions. To be 21 points behind Arsenal, what a drop off that is. So I think there are issues going on.

“I don't think they are on the same page, there doesn't seem to be the same chemistry with the players.”

Jamie Carragher has sent a warning to Arne Slot after his Liverpool side were booed off following their 1-1 Premier League draw with Tottenham on Sunday

Jamie Carragher has warned Arne Slot he faces a challenge to get Liverpool supporters back onside after his side were booed off against Tottenham Hotspur. Richarlison’s late equaliser sparked an exodus before the remaining Reds supporters booed their team off the field on the final whistle.

Speaking after the game, Slot said he didn’t blame Liverpool fans for venting their frustration at the full-time whistle. But Carragher has warned Slot that the draw with Spurs, along with the defeats to Wolves and Galatasaray, has brought a shift in the fanbase.

"The bigger point is how worrying it is for the manager, and I think there is a difference between most support in terms of what we see online and social media compared to the match-going fans,” he said on Monday Night Football.

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"And I think for a lot of this season when people have turned on Arne Slot, the match-going fans have stuck with him.

"You think even what happened with Mo Salah the next game was away in the San Siro, and they (the fans) were chanting for Arne Slot. And it is not easy for a Liverpool crowd to turn on a manager who has won a title 12 months before.

"But I felt there was a big shift yesterday in terms of how the crowd felt in terms of their Liverpool team and their manager.

"The booing at the end, that was proper booing, that was a really unhappy and disgruntled fanbase and I think it is going to be really difficult to get them back.

"Once you lose that crowd, it is very difficult. Now something really special could happen in terms of a Champions League, or maybe you win the FA Cup and you qualify for the Champions League.

"But I think a lot of the supporters have gone on the back of what has happened in this last week, especially one point from Wolves and Tottenham and losing the first-leg to Galatasaray in the Champions League, and I am not that confident, certainly as I was a few weeks ago, about going through against Galatasaray.”

Carragher also believes Liverpool's biggest problem is their pressing, saying: "I think they're really deep. I said on commentary yesterday that they are lots of things wrong with this Liverpool team, nothing's working. But the biggest thing that stands out for me that Liverpool have lost is the press.

"Pressing wasn't just a Jurgen Klopp thing, but the whole point of people saying, 'It's tough going to Anfield,' is not that Liverpool are always amazing on the ball or got the best players. It was that it's a tight pitch, the fans are on top of you, Liverpool get after you and win the ball back and go forward – and that is something that is sorely lacking and is the biggest problem at Liverpool right now."

Before he added: "They're not a team, they're a team of individuals. Quality players, yes, but just been dropped in with no cohesion.

In his latest weekly column, John Aldridge assesses another disappointing Liverpool afternoon against Tottenham Hotspur and why the Premier League could come to the rescue

Anybody who wants to know how far Liverpool have fallen this season needs only watch what happened against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Almost 12 months ago, the two teams met at Anfield and we absolutely battered them to seal a Premier League title triumph that was as emphatic as it was deserved.

But at the weekend Arne Slot’s side couldn’t even beat what was in effect a Tottenham reserve team given all the injuries and suspensions the visitors had.

Since that win against Spurs last April, Liverpool have lost 15 games in all competitions. That’s not very good at all.

A fair amount has been made about the booing at full-time on Sunday. I’ve been supporting Liverpool for more than 50 years and I still hate to hear the players being jeered at full-time.

But you can understand it. It has been a culmination of what the home fans have had to put up with at Anfield for much of the season. There hasn’t been a lot of enjoyment for anyone involved.

It’s not as though the players have been chucking it in. They haven’t. The effort was very much there but what there quite clearly isn’t much of is belief.

Then there’s the question of aggression. There just isn’t enough of it from Liverpool’s players. Sure, they might win the ball in a challenge, but then they give it away instantly because they aren’t showing enough conviction. If you’re going to head it, then properly head it. Clear it. It seems at times they are thinking too much about what the next pass might be rather than dealing with the situation there and then.

As ex-players watching on, we couldn’t believe what was happening in the build-up to Tottenham’s equaliser. You could see it coming a mile off.

The team has become anxious during the closing stages of games, and that once again cost us.

But the anxiety is happening at other key points in the game. Look at the end of the first half when we gifted Tottenham some chances. That surely helped them going into the second half.

Look, you’re always going to concede late on during a season. But you shouldn’t be doing it as many times as we have been, especially given so many of them have changed the outcome of matches.

Even if you take away just half of those late goals, we’d be a lot further up the table and probably be on the tails of Manchester City. Then you’re going into games with a totally different mindset and with more confidence. Those late goals are what are basically destroying our self-belief.

The problem on Sunday is we didn’t kill the game off. We got the lead and were on top, and then we simply let the game drift away from us and back into the hands of Tottenham.

There’ll be plenty of talk about the changes made by the manager, but on form how many of those who didn’t start deserved to?

You might say Alexander Isak and possibly Conor Bradley would have been good shouts had they been fit, and I’d have perhaps started with Hugo Ekitike and, if tiredness was an issue, taken him off after an hour.

I get that Slot probably thought his line-up had enough to beat Tottenham and, in truth, it should have done easily. A 1-0 win wouldn’t have been great but it would have been three points.

And that’s all that matters at the moments – results. Liverpool need to start getting more quickly.

Premier League salvation

Let’s be honest – the standard of the Premier League is pretty poor this season. And that might end up being good news for Liverpool.

You only have to look at the performances of the English teams in the Champions League last week to realise the top flight is somewhat over-rated.

Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are already effectively out, we could easily have lost by more at Galatasaray and Arsenal scraped a draw.

Newcastle United were the only ones to gain a good result but you’d still not have them as favourites to go through at Barcelona.

What it all means is that despite so many indifferent performances, Liverpool are still very much in the hunt for Champions League qualification.

But let’s be clear – that was two massive points dropped against Tottenham Hotspur that could prove crucial.

We are going to need to turn up at Brighton on Saturday. It isn’t going to be any easier there.

Richarlison put his body on the line to save Everton and he showed with his goal and all-round performance against Liverpool that is likely to do the same for Tottenham Hotspur

There is a lot you would want in a Premier League relegation fight that Tottenham Hotspur are missing.

Interim boss Igor Tudor has failed to provide a new manager ‘bounce’ and instead has appeared to cause more division at a time when unity is essential. Captain Cristian Romero’s discipline on the pitch and on social media has also been problematic while there has been major disruption behind the scenes.

What they do have, and what could prove crucial - as Everton supporters will attest - is Richarlison. The forward is once again showing he is willing to fight when the situation is dire, a characteristic that saved the Blues and could now save Spurs.

The 28-year-old (can you believe he is only 28?) led from the front at Anfield on Sunday. His history with Everton makes him a target on the pitch and from the stands at Liverpool and for a long time it looked as though his efforts would go without reward - his seemingly thankless task greeted with jeers at every failed foray forward.

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Yet he carried on and dragged a depleted, threadbare side on its worst losing streak in generations to an unlikely point that started to look more and more of a possibility as he kept going.

The warning signs were there for Liverpool - the Brazil international forced a good save from Alisson Becker with a header from a corner and then was agonisingly close to meeting an Archie Gray cross when any touch would have led to an equaliser.

But relegation-fighting Richarlison is a different beast and he got his goal in the 90th minute, earning Tottenham a vital point.

As he celebrated inside a stunned stadium it was hard not to think back to how he pulled Everton from the mire under Frank Lampard four years ago. It was his goal just after half-time - created by him hunting down the ball - that gave the Blues the win over Chelsea that kickstarted the run to survival.

His celebration, in which he picked up a smoking flare, was one of several iconic moments on a day in which Evertonians held their first coach welcome in the tight streets surrounding Goodison Park and when Jordan Pickford made one of the great saves of the Premier League era.

Ten days earlier he had rescued a point at home to Leicester City through sheer force of will and the forward would pop up with six goals in the last nine games of the season that mattered - including the equaliser in the comeback win over Crystal Palace that guaranteed survival and made a final day trip to Arsenal meaningless.

There are several players who deserve immense credit for hauling Everton from the mess that year. Seamus Coleman was an inspiration on and off the pitch and Pickford provided several crucial saves. Richarlison was vital, too. That he did it all while carrying an injury made it even more impressive.

“We were at risk of relegation,” he later said in an interview with the Players’ Tribune. “I was exhausted. I lost weight, and I could barely play an entire game. I had been injured in the Olympics, and I was injured again at the club. My body was asking me to stop. But it was simple: I had to help save the club. Everton do not belong in the Championship. Can you imagine? We had no choice.”

Richarlison said he refused a medical ahead of the Crystal Palace game because he feared he would stopped from playing, something he could not contemplate. He played, he scored, the Blues stayed up.

That summer he moved to Spurs but his connection with Everton has remained strong, as did his love for the club - he spent the second half of that season teasing Arnaut Danjuma, questioning his 11th-hour U-turn away from a move to Merseyside and to north London instead.

He is now tasked with saving Spurs from catastrophe and, as he showed on Sunday evening, there should be little doubt he will be up for the fight.

Dominik Szoboszlai urges Liverpool fans to stick with the team in "difficult times", admitting they felt the support wane during Sunday's draw with Tottenham Hotspur

Dominik Szoboszlai has urged Liverpool fans to stick with the team in "difficult times" - after many left in the closing stages of Sunday's draw with Tottenham Hotspur. The Reds were held 1-1 by struggling Spurs and were also subjected to boos following the full-time whistle.

Szoboszlai scored his 11th goal of the campaign in the first half with another free-kick for his growing collection but relegation-threatened Tottenham secured a 90th-minute equaliser via former Everton striker Richarlison.

Scores of match-goers headed for the exits in stoppage time, while those who stayed at Anfield jeered as Arne Slot's Reds missed the chance to properly capitalise on defeats for Chelsea and Aston Villa over the weekend.

Szoboszlai revealed the players are affected by those who choose to leave early and has asked the Anfield faithful to remain firmly behind the team as the quest for Champions League qualification goes on.

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“I think it should be normal that in hard times we stick together more because that’s what we need, we need each other," the Hungary captain said.

"We want to make them happy, it’s not that we do it on purpose. We want to make ourselves happy, make all the Liverpool supporters happy, but we need them.

"Last year it was for sure enjoyable to watch all the games but this year maybe it’s not that enjoyable, for sure, I can imagine. But still support us also when we are in difficult times.

“Of course. But as I said they can be angry but stick with us because we are a family, we need you guys. We would like to make them happy so just stay together.

"For sure. I don’t say they have no right to leave the stadium, they can leave if they want. We need them and they should know this. We are one less without them.

“If you talk about Liverpool then the Champions League is normal. You have to be there. When I first came we played in the Europa League, so it happens sometimes that we don’t achieve [Champions League qualification].

"But our aim is to get in the top four or go as far as we can in the Champions League. I am going to do everything that is possible to finish in the top four but alone I’m not enough so we need everybody.

"We had already a couple of weeks ago a talk between each other saying: ‘Guys we don’t have such a lot of time to do this right so we have to wake up and start to go in a way that we want to play Champions League next season’.

"We have Galatasaray on Wednesday and that will be a tough game because we felt it there. I don’t think it helps us also that after 80 minutes people start to go home, it doesn’t help us at all. Stick with us.

"Everyone is noticing that and when we concede a goal still people are leaving the stadium – you don’t leave when we score. I understand the frustration but we need them, we need everybody, and that’s the most important."

The draw moved Liverpool into fifth place, which is expected to be the final Champions League spot, but there was little sugarcoating what was a frustrating day for Slot and his players against a Spurs side who had lost all four previous games under new coach Igor Tudor and haven't won a Premier League game since December.

Szoboszlai added: "Where do we go from here? It’s a good question. If I knew the answer I would be the first one to go to the team and say it.

"We have to find solutions. As I’ve said many times before, it’s a little bit boring when I say this, but we still need to find a solution because we are running out of time.

“We played a completely different game in the second half to the first half. The answer for this. Why? I don’t know.

"First half we controlled the game, we played well, we were winning the balls, they had hardly created any chances – maybe a couple of headers – but we were in control and I feel in the second half we lost this control a little bit and it [the game] went there and back, there and back a lot of times.

"Sometimes we have to stay calm more on the ball and also, again, [conceded] in the last minute.

"Somehow this year is like this but we have to stick together and that’s the most important thing because the good times are always easy to stay together, but in the hard times it is the most difficult to stay together.

"But we have to because it is a long way to go still."