Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has his target set, otherwise it could cost him his job at Anfield...(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Arne Slot will reportedly face the sack as Liverpool head coach should his team fail to qualify for next season's Champions League.

After entering the season as reigning Premier League champions and with £450m worth of new playing talent, the Reds sit a mighty 17 points off leaders Arsenal in sixth. Mikel Arteta's side are all-but certain to reach Europe's top competition, whilst second-placed Manchester City boosted their chances of qualification when dealing a damaging 2-1 defeat to Slot 's men at Anfield last Sunday.

Aston Villa and Manchester United currently occupy the final spaces left of the top-four, leaving Chelsea to hold fifth spot with a four-point advantage over Liverpool.

At his pre-Sunderland press conference on Tuesday morning, the 47-year-old himself admitted: "Yes, if we don't have Champions League football, it is definitely not been an acceptable season.

"The season I arrived here, we could only sign Federico Chiesa and that was after a Europa League season. So it does have an enormous impact on the way this club is run. So I'm completely aware of that.

"[We have to be] close to perfection because of the points we are behind."

So, Slot is well aware of the ramifications of failing to qualify for next season's Champions League and of growing scrutiny with his credit in the bank from last season's English league title success quickly depleting.

Club owners Fenway Sports Group will be attentive to the situation and, according to ESPN, the Dutchman needs a 'convincing' end to the season with a place in next season's Champions League secured, otherwise he will 'struggle to survive' in his job at Anfield, for which he is supposed to be contracted until 2027.

Slot will have two routes to achieve this, the first being a recovery of Liverpool's Premier League campaign.

As things stand, a top-four spot will be required to qualify for next season's Champions League, though there is the possibility of a lifeline emerging. Like last season, the collective performance of English clubs in Europe so far in 2025/26 has put the Premier League in pole position to earn an extra qualifying space, which would be given to the team who finishes fifth.

The second option the Reds possess is winning this season's Champions League, which would be the seventh in the club's history and the first since 2019's success under Jurgen Klopp.

This also guarantees entry into next season's competition. As things stand, Liverpool have automatically qualified for the round of 16, which will commence in March.

They await to discover their opponents out of four possible clubs who must contest a play-off round. They are Galatasaray, Juventus, Club Brugge and Atletico Madrid. (Mirror)