It was just over two weeks ago when Arne Slot told reporters at Liverpool's AXA Training Centre that he had "every reason to believe" he would be the Liverpool manager next season.

Slot was a major part of planning for next season and, at various times over the past few months, spoke about the importance of the summer ahead for Liverpool as they continue their transition, following a record spend of £415m in the same period last season.

So when the Dutchman was informed on Saturday morning by Liverpool, after a decision made by sporting director Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards, chief executive of owners FSG, that he was to be sacked, it was a shock to Slot.

His contract was set to expire next summer and, in the concluding weeks of the campaign, Slot spoke like a man firmly with the belief that he would be leading Liverpool next season.

As early as yesterday, Slot's representatives believed there was no change in the support shown by Liverpool over the course of what the 47-year-old described to BBC Sport in February as the "toughest season" he has had.

A campaign that started with the tragic passing of Diogo Jota and saw Liverpool engulfed with injuries ended with the team losing 19 games across all competitions.

Add in the regular occurrence of boos from supporters at Anfield and the ugly breakdown of his relationship with Mohamed Salah and you can see why Slot and Liverpool were truly pushed to the limits.

The way he carried himself and led the club through one of its darkest hours after Jota's death deserves the utmost credit.

Liverpool believe that, having had a chance to assess the situation now the season is over, the team must evolve again.

Major signings were made last summer with Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni joining and more are planned this summer, with Jeremy Jacquet, already confirmed in a £60m deal from Rennes.

Fundamentally, the feeling is that the next phase demands a front-foot, aggressive and urgent style of football, and that Slot is not the man for that.

That much was clear as the season went on with Liverpool repeatedly delivering dull displays. Hughes was present when Liverpool went off to a chorus of boos against Chelsea earlier this month - a clear sign that the fanbase was turning.

When the departing Salah called out Slot's style of play indirectly in a social media post two weeks ago that was liked by other Liverpool players, it was a clear attack on his manager's leadership.

There were also question marks over whether the players truly believed in Slot's methods.

One club source, who was also at Liverpool during Jurgen Klopp's tenure said: "Arne's a great person but you always felt he lacked that authority Jurgen had and that became more evident when things weren't going well on the pitch."

The departure of veterans Salah, Andy Robertson and now Ibrahima Konate is telling too.

Slot was never going to be Klopp but he won the Premier League title at the first time of asking and deserves immense credit for that

For that alone, he will be a part of Liverpool's illustrious history.

Questions must also be asked about Liverpool's hierarchy because, if they had made this decision a few weeks earlier, then one of their own in Xabi Alonso would have been available and such a decision would have had the blessing of plenty of Liverpool supporters.

Alonso, who shares the same agent as Andoni Iraola, joined Chelsea as manager on a four-year deal.

Both Hughes and Edwards are contracted until next summer.

The understanding is that FSG initially backed Slot next season to rebuild the supporter faith that has waned considerably during last season's struggles.

But, as the season concluded, they believed that delaying the decision which looked increasingly inevitable would be unfair on the squad and damaging to preparations for next season.

It was a decision made with enormous reluctance with Slot becoming the first Liverpool manager to be sacked despite winning the league - Kenny Dalglish was sacked in 2011-12 but that was his second stint as Liverpool.

Iraola - who was appointed by Hughes at Bournemouth - is the leading candidate and contact has already been made, with his immediate availability also playing a part in severing ties with Slot.

For Slot, there is no bad blood with Liverpool but he is of the belief that he has been dealt a tough hand with the situation this past season. With perspective, if you were to switch his two seasons around - one where Liverpool win the title and one where they qualify for the Champions League - then he would be hailed as a genius.

But the reality is that Liverpool's points tally fell from 84 in 2024-25 to 60 in 2025-26; with the swing of minus 24 the biggest drop by any ever-present Premier League side across the past two campaigns.

There was no sign of Liverpool reversing that shift in the last few months of the season.

The way it has panned out, Slot has not been able to say goodbye to the fans.

He finished his first campaign lifting the Premier League trophy in front of the Kop, where his head is on an iconic banner of Reds bosses to have won either a league title or a European Cup, alongside the likes of Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley.

By the end of the second season, Slot was sat alone in the dugout watching Salah and Robertson say their own goodbyes. That was six days ago, when it seemed like Liverpool were sticking with him and Slot had no reason to believe otherwise.

But modern day football is brutal and Liverpool have acted in a manner that is certainly not usual with their tradition. This is a club firmly in transition and sadly for Slot, Liverpool want a new man to manage that change.