(Credit: Imago)

Evan Shaw

Wed 3 June 2026 7:00, UK

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Liverpool’s board lost faith in Arne Slot long before he was sacked last week, but “dithered” over pulling the trigger.

That is according to former Everton chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who believes that FSG began to have “second thoughts” on the Dutchman’s future when the team’s form picked up in February.

Slot found himself under serious pressure at Anfield for large parts of the season, as the Merseysiders saw the defence of their Premier League title rapidly fade away.

However, the board waited until the end of the campaign before reviewing the boss’ position, and ultimately decided that he is not the right man to lead them forward.

Andoni Iraola is set to become Liverpool’s new boss, but Wyness feels that there should still be scrutiny on those behind the scenes who handled Slot’s dismissal.

FSG ‘dithering’ left messy situation with Arne Slot

Everton’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that FSG should have shown stronger leadership by sticking to their guns and sacking Slot earlier in the campaign.

The Scottish businessman suggested that he was “surprised” that Slot wasn’t shown the door much sooner, but acknowledged that the club now have an ideal chance to move forward.

Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness made it clear that he is still privy to the inner workings of both Everton and Liverpool, and revealed the uncertainty that he had felt surrounding Slot’s future.

“Living on Merseyside, I’m very much in tune with a lot of what goes on in both clubs. There were peaks and troughs in the season for Slot, and I actually thought the ending would have come earlier than it did,” he said.

“The team seemed to have a little bit of a spike in form, and it gave people second thoughts internally. My impression is that there’s been some dithering, and it hasn’t been a very clean situation.

“The timing surprised me in the sense that it didn’t happen sooner. Although I think they would say they wanted to do it at the end of the season, and have an end-of-season review. To me, that’s not really how it works.

🚨💣 BREAKING: Liverpool reach agreement in principle to appoint Andoni Iraola as new manager, here we go! 🔴🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

Exclusive story from Saturday, 100% confirmed: Arne Slot left and Iraola will lead #LFC project, as expected.

Talks advanced over last 48h and deal in place. pic.twitter.com/2FIMdRnn0B

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 2, 2026

“I think they’d have lost faith in him earlier. We’re now here with Liverpool without a manager, and it’s a chance for them to move forward.”

Liverpool three-point transfer plan set for Andoni Iraola

Football Insider revealed on Monday that Liverpool’s summer transfer plans won’t change once Iraola is appointed as manager, with his arrival now seen as a formality.

One of the new boss’ first tasks when walking through the door is to sit down and discuss with the recruitment team, who are already working on addressing the three key areas that they have identified.

The Reds are targeting the additions of a new left-back, a new left-sided winger and a holding midfielder, as they work to plug the gaps that have emerged in the squad.

There are currently no plans to target moves for any of the Bournemouth squad that secured a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League under Iraola’s guidance.