Arne Slot's critics are 'petty'! Liverpool boss defended over 'frightening' debut season after Jurgen Klopp's replacement was tipped to be 'sacked in first year'

Slot has received widespread praise for the job he's overseen during his first year at Anfield having replaced the legendary Jurgen Klopp last summer. There are, however, still some detractors of his work due to the strength of the playing squad he was left to work with.

The Reds lead the Premier League table by a whopping 15 points with only nine rounds of fixtures remaining. Though their hopes of a treble were ended on Tuesday night after being dumped out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain, they can still secure a domestic double, with Slot's men set to face Newcastle in the final of the Carabao Cup - the last trophy won by Klopp on Merseyside.

Former Liverpool midfielder Redknapp, who will be part of the Sky Sports team for the Carabao Cup Final live on Sunday from 3pm, was full of praise for Slot's work, particularly as he had to follow in the footsteps of such a huge figure in the club's history.

When asked by GOAL if he agreed with the sentiment that Slot's job was made easier by Klopp leaving him a talented squad, Redknapp replied: "No I don't, I think it's harder! You've only got to look at history, how hard it was to follow Sir Alex Ferguson [at Manchester United] and the same with Arsene Wenger when he left Arsenal, they still haven't won a Premier League title since he left. I looked at history for that reason.

"At the end of last season when Jurgen Klopp was leaving, I thought I wouldn't be surprised if the new manager didn't even last a year, and that was before Arne Slot got through the door. But it was very quick that we all understood that this guy means business. He's calm, he's assured, he's not trying to be like Jurgen Klopp, he's not doing the fist pumps, he's just his own guy. And yeah, Arsenal haven't been as good as they were last year and Manchester City haven't been as good, but you still cannot take anything away from what he's done. The other teams have improved, the likes of your Nottingham Forests and Brentfords and Brightons, it's a strong league.

"Klopp last year, I bet he thought 'I've taken this team as far as I can, this is going to need rebuilding'. They're all smart managers, they can work out when's the right time to leave. It's not the wedding, you've got to plan the divorce. I'm sure he probably thought, 'I've done everything I can here', and you look at what Arne Slot's done, he's made it look so easy. A couple of little tactical adjustments, bringing Ryan Gravenberch into the defensive midfield role, and he's made it look easy. I think Liverpool have been magnificent this year, and I honestly think for anybody to try and take anything away from him, I think it's petty. As I said, I didn't think the next manager would last a year after Jurgen Klopp, what he's done is phenomenal."

Fellow ex-England international Les Ferdinand, who will also be part of the Sky Sports broadcast team for the Carabao Cup final, then quizzed Redknapp on who he thought had the stronger squad to inherit between Slot and Klopp.

Redknapp replied: "Slot. There's no doubt that Klopp inherited a pretty poor group of players to start with, but he knew what he had to do. He knew he had to go and get Alisson, to go and get Virgil van Dijk, they went and got Mohamed Salah. They recruited incredibly well and that's a team. I guess the only thing you will say is a test will come, not the 'real test' but a test where once the contracts with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Salah and Van Dijk have been sorted out, how they recruit and how Slot builds his own team will be where he's held in the long term. But right now, if you're just taking this in isolation as a first breakout season, it's incredible and absolutely phenomenal what he's done. There's no doubt he's inherited a much better side than Klopp did, but Klopp didn't win the league in his first year. It's frightening what he's done."

Slot will be hoping to avenge Liverpool's European heartbreak by securing his first piece of silverware for the club on Sunday when they take on Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final.

It's a Big Weekend of sport on Sky Sports and NOW, featuring the Carabao Cup Final, Arsenal v Chelsea and Leicester City v Manchester United in the Premier League, Old Firm and Steel City derbies, Australian Grand Prix, tennis from Indian Wells, and The Players Championship, all live.