Slaughter: Due to the team s position, it is difficult to consider signings. We cannot count on the injured Bradley in 22 days and 7 games.

Liverpool will face Nottingham Forest at Anfield in the 12th round of the Premier League on Saturday night. At the press conference before this game, Red Army coach Slaughter talked about the team's preparations and also answered some questions that fans and the media were very concerned about.

About winter window signings

I don’t plan to talk about signings at the moment. For many games to come, we were in a position where I just couldn't think about it. At least for now, it's not a topic I care about. We currently have three centre-backs, and perhaps Hrafenbecher and Hiro Endo can also fill this position. However, we have some tougher issues in other locations.

About the team's position in the standings

It is most accurate to judge a team's league ranking through 38 rounds of games, and the ranking after 19 rounds is second. Let's see what the situation is like at that time.

On Robertson's comments about Jota and how the team dealt with the grief

We are always judged, sometimes fairly, sometimes unfairly. I watched that interview live and I know it's an issue for our players and I think it's completely normal. In these moments, I think about how his wife and children are feeling because they have suffered so much more than we have.

We miss Jota as a player and as an individual, that's very clear. We're going up against Nottingham Forest, where last season we were 1-0 down and it took just a minute for Jota to equalize and he was instrumental in turning the game around. We miss him not only as a player, but as a human being.

Every time we think of Jota it is good for us, both as a player and as a person, he is so good. It's hard to measure what impact this has had on the players and our results. I would never use that as an excuse because I really don't know. We miss his presence as a player and as an individual, and to me, it's impossible to quantify how much that impacted us. We will never use this as an excuse.

About the team’s injury issues

Robertson will train with the team today. Alisson trained last week and this week and if everything goes well today, he will be available. We did have some problems after the international break. With Bradley unable to play and Wirtz unable to play, this is far from an ideal situation.

About Nottingham Forest’s change of head coach

Ditch’s tactical style is more like Nuno than Postkoglu. The style of this game is likely to be very similar compared to the last time they met.

About the team's status

The fluctuations in status are not only due to the addition of new players. The biggest problem we are facing now is match fitness. We had hoped that Isak would have played a few more games with Sweden, but since he would have been suspended if he picked up another yellow card, they understandably didn't play him in the second game.

In the next 7 games in the next 22 days, we only have 5 genuine defenders available. I don’t think any players will come back during this period. This is a difficulty that we have anticipated when introducing players.

About the injuries of Bradley and Wirtz

Both Bradley and Wirtz have muscle problems. I do not expect the former to return in the next 22 days, unless a miracle occurs, and the latter may not be out for that long. Frimpong will also miss the same amount of time and will be unavailable for the next few weeks.

Szoboszlai performed very well in various positions. Joe Gomez has already played the full 90 minutes twice in 2025, and asking him to make seven consecutive appearances in these 22 days could be risky if we expect him to stay fit for longer. He did not train yesterday but we expect him to return to training today. In recent times, there may be one or two players who need to play other positions.

About Szoboszlai not qualifying for the World Cup

We did discuss this matter and also talked with Kyle Ketz. It was very disappointing to be eliminated so close to the play-offs, especially late in extra time. Both sides made two substitutions during that period, so that's fair. What's especially hard to swallow is what it means on the other end when you see Robertson getting promoted because it means so much to them to get promoted.

Regarding Konate’s contract issue

My answer is what you can expect. Do I need to say it clearly?