Liverpool have endured a disappointing defense of the title they won in such style under manager Arne Slott last season, but former Caoichhin Kelleher believes there is a reason behind the slump.
Diogo Jota tragically passed away in the summer (Image: Getty Images)
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Caouhin Kelleher believes Diogo Jota’s tragic death still weighs heavily on the Reds. Liverpool cruised towards the title last season under manager Arne Slott but struggled in their bid to defend the trophy.
Liverpool are currently in 6th place, 14 points behind current leaders Arsenal. Asked about the reason for the slump, Kelleher believes the impact of Jota’s death has not been taken into account enough.
The forward sadly died in a devastating car accident in the summer, along with his younger brother Andre Silva. In an interview with The Independent, Kelleher said: “Listen, from a personal side, it was clearly the right thing for me to leave and play first-team football. Never mind the tragedy that happened. I keep in touch with some of the players there and I have a lot of good friends.”
“It’s been a very difficult time for them, a difficult season, and there are situations that people probably don’t really consider. But for me, it’s probably been a little bit easier being away from it and not being so close to it every day.
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“I think it’s a little strange and a little difficult when you hear people talking about Liverpool’s players and their performances because, to be honest, I don’t think this season is important for them from a footballing perspective. It’s more about their personal and mental aspects.
“Obviously, football is a huge sport and people have opinions, but that’s natural. People expect it to move forward very quickly, but I don’t think that’s the case.”
Kelleher, 27, ended his relationship with Liverpool this summer and moved to fellow Premier League side Brentford. He has spent the past six seasons in Liverpool’s first team, making 67 appearances for the Reds.
Kelleher shares his thoughts on Liverpool this season (Image: Getty Images)
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Liverpool manager Arne Slott was asked earlier this season about the impact of Jota’s death on the team and, although he said it would be impossible to get any real remorse, he insisted the club would mourn the Portuguese forward for some time.
In November he said: “It would be good for us to always remember him. We can do that because of the person and the player he was. It’s impossible to measure how that will affect the players and our results. We never want to use that as an excuse.”
“I don’t know. What I do know is that we miss that player. That’s 100 percent certain, we miss that player, but you can’t measure the impact that will have on our performance. It’s impossible for me to say that and we’re not going to use that as an excuse.”
Liverpool will aim to return to the top four this weekend when they take on Josep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
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