Rooney urges Slot to bench Salah amid slump

Wayne Rooney has urged Liverpool boss Arne Slot to leave Mohamed Salah out of the starting XI as a shock move to try and jolt the champions back into form.

Liverpool were beaten three-nil at Anfield by Nottingham Forest on Saturday, a result that leaves last season’s title winners 11th in the Premier League, eleven points behind leaders Arsenal.

Salah failed to register a goal or assist in that defeat, which marked Liverpool’s sixth league loss in their past seven matches. Across the Forest game and the previous Premier League defeat to Manchester City, Slot’s side have shipped six unanswered goals.

“Salah is not helping them defensively,” Rooney said on The Wayne Rooney Show.

“I’m sure if you’re one of them players they’ve signed, you’re sat on the bench and you’ve seen them not running – I get he’s a club legend and everything he’s done on the club – but if you’re on the bench then what message does that send if you see one of your teammates not running back and he’s starting every game?

“If I was Arne Slot, I’d try and make a big decision just so it has an impact on the rest of the team.

“When you’re not winning games, you want to stay compact and hard to beat.

“While I think they’re going through this period, 100% he [Slot] needs to make a decision and get them compact, get them hard to beat and every player running back and then when they start winning games you can bring him back in and hope that he is running back more.

“I think that will have an impact on the team for sure.”

Rooney then widened the criticism to a group of senior players he feels have slipped below the required standard under Slot.

“They haven’t been great at all, and that’s not just van Dijk and Salah,” Rooney said.

“I’d like to say they’re the leaders in the team but the likes of Mac Allister, who’s been there for a few years now, Gravenberch who did really well last year, these players have got to pull things out, get behind everyone and try and create a team that’s going to win again.”

Rooney pointed to the death of Diogo Jota as a possible factor in Liverpool’s drop-off, noting the emotional strain on the dressing room after the forward’s fatal car crash in July.

“They’re going through a hard time, aren’t they,” he said.

“You’ve probably got to have a look at Jota, sadly what happened to Jota, what effect has that had on players.

“That’s his teammate, you’re with him every day and that surely has to have an effect.”