'No question': Steve Nicol explains why Arne Slot is still 'a huge part of the problem' despite Forest win

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Alexis Mac Allister’s late winner was not enough to mask what was a dreadful performance from Liverpool away at Nottingham Forest.The Reds have been in better form of late, and with Forest coming off the back of a midweek trip to Turkey, there was a feeling that they could catch the home team cold.However, within just minutes of the game it was clear that that was not going to happen. And while some have been keen to pin the blame for that on the players, former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol says it is almost completely the fault of head coach Arne Slot and his staff.Slot must ‘smell’ dressing room atmosphereThere is perhaps no use in continuing to compare Slot with his predecessor Jurgen Klopp, but the difference in the way Liverpool start games under the two managers is stark.Obviously there were plenty of matches with Klopp in charge where the Reds started in the manner they did at the City Ground, but by and large they were known to be fast, energetic starters.

“You’re not telling me that they were all in the dressing room and there’s a lot of energy and everybody’s discussing where they should be, what they should be doing and then they walk out and do that? “That’s generally a quiet dressing room that starts a game like that and that’s down to the manager to smell it, see it and do something about it because, clearly, they weren’t ready for the game.” Change my mind Rio Ngumoha was Liverpool’s star man despite barely playing vs Forest Can anyone take the MOM award off him?

Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images Liverpool need more energetic leadersNicol has been in dressing rooms his whole life, as both a player and a manager, so he knows exactly what he’s talking about here.There are games when it can pay off to be calmer and more serene beforehand, but you simply cannot do it in every single fixture.In this respect, Liverpool are perhaps paying for the fact that Slot is generally a calm person. With Virgil van Dijk also as cool a customer as they come, the leadership within the Reds’ ranks is possibly a little too relaxed.That is no excuse for beginning matches in the manner they continue to do, but it does not feel like a coincidence either.With Klopp and Jordan Henderson to rally the troops, Liverpool would often start games baying for the opposition’s blood, regularly scoring one, two or three straight out of the blocks.