Pundits are divided on Arne Slot’s ability to turn around his side’s dreadful start to their Premier League title defence.

Reigning champions Liverpool have now lost eight of their past 11 games in all competitions, including six of their past seven in the league.

The side’s defensive record has been awful: Slot’s side have shipped three to Brentford, Crystal Palace, Manchester City and now Forest within the past month.

But things have barely been any better at the other end of the pitch recently, with their expensively-assembled attack drawing blanks against Palace, City and Forest.

Those wholesale problems up and down the pitch have naturally led to questions about Slot’s ability to get Liverpool out of their tailspin.

But former Reds captain Jamie Redknapp believes a dip was always going to come following Jurgen Klopp’s departure last year and Diogo Jota’s tragic death in the summer.

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Redknapp said: “I look at Liverpool now, this is what I expected to happen last season.

“After Jurgen Klopp leaving the club I thought it would have some negative effect on the team. There wasn’t. They did something absolutely extraordinary and won the league.

“Right now, I think it’s a time for patience because they’ll be people, pundits, everyone going crazy, ‘sack the manager’.

“Calm, take your time, make sure you assess it. It’s been the most difficult pre-season you can imagine for those players.”

Former Arsenal centre-back Martin Keown took a more critical stance on Final Score, however, saying: “We have to give credit to Forest for what they are doing but yes, [things are going really badly] now for Arne Slot.

“Obviously, it was Jurgen Klopp’s team, and he has tried to come in and make changes, but he has spent ￡450million on players, and they are going backwards.

“They have simply been undone. Whether it’s a crisis I don’t know, it’s certainly a major problem for the manager to go six defeats from seven. Unthinkable.”