Carragher said: “I thought his actions after the match were disgraceful. Some people might paint this as an emotional outburst, but I don’t think that’s the case.”
“Whenever Mo Salah stops in a mixed zone, which he has done four times in eight years, I think it’s choreographed for him and his agents to do maximum damage and strengthen their position. He did it 12 months ago, and I called him out on this program for it, and he made a play that struck a chord with Liverpool supporters.”
“Liverpool were top of the league and he had scored the winning goal against Southampton. That’s when the pressure was on the Liverpool ownership. So for the rest of the season there will be banners in the crowd that say ‘Give Mo the Dough’.
“He chose this weekend to do this. I think he was waiting for a bad result for Liverpool. It feels like a last-minute goal that leaves the supporters, the manager, everyone at the club in turmoil. And he chose that moment for the manager and maybe to sack him.”
Carragher added, “The line that stands out to me is “I was thrown under the bus.” For me, he has spent the last 12 months trying to throw the club under the bus in situations like the one I just described. He complained a year ago that they had not given the 32-year-old a contract, going after owners who are paying him hundreds of thousands of pounds over six years, but they are more than entitled to do so.
“As a manager you should be doing everything you can to get the club out of its worst run since the 1950s and he hasn’t done that.”
Meanwhile, in a press conference, Slott was asked if their relationship was irreparable: “I don’t think so, but he has a right to feel how he feels. I certainly didn’t feel that way at all until Saturday evening. When I stopped playing with him, usually players don’t like coaches that much, but he had a lot of respect for the staff and his teammates and he was training really hard.”
“So when I heard he made that comment, I was a little surprised. But it’s not the first time a player doesn’t play. My reaction to that was obvious as well, and that’s why he’s not here tonight.”
