Arne Slot has responded to speculation over his long-term Liverpool future.
The Dutchman is under the microscope ahead of Saturday’s Premier League visit of Aston Villa after his side’s run of six defeats in the previous seven outings.
Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fourth round exit to Crystal Palace also marked the first time since 1953 that the Reds have lost to five domestic opponents in succession.
Despite the maelstrom, the Dutchman has been tipped for a new contract after delivering Anfield’s 20th league title during his opening season at the helm.
But Slot, who signed a three-year deal upon to succeed Jurgen Klopp last summer, insists that his immediate focus remains on arresting Liverpool’s current malaise.
He said: “That is the last question I was expecting.
“I think my focus can be completely on getting Liverpool back to winning ways. That’s my first answer.
“The second answer is that contract talks, if they are even there, we never speak about this here.
“But let us first start to win again, that’s where my main focus is.”
The Liverpool head coach is hopeful Ryan Gravenberch can feature against Villa after recovering from injury but Alexander Isak and Curtis Jones remain sidelined.
“Ryan trained with us yesterday, the other two didn’t yet.” added Slot.
“In the end phase of the injury, things can slow down a bit or things can go faster.
“But Ryan trained with us yesterday and he will train with us today and then we will make the call whether he is able to start.
“The other two are 99.9% sure not in the squad on Saturday.”