Jurgen Klopp's secret meeting with Liverpool chiefs before final manager sack decision

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Liverpool's head coach, Arne Slot , is finding it increasingly difficult to avoid the mounting questions about his future at the club. Saturday's 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest has extended the Reds' dreadful run of form. They've now suffered defeat in six of their last seven Premier League matches and eight of their last 11 across all competitions.

After just 12 league games, their title defence already appears to be over. The concern isn't just that Liverpool are losing so many matches. The performance against Forest was perhaps the most worrying this season, with Slot still struggling to get the best out of his players despite the summer's massive spending spree.

Despite last season's success, Liverpool boss Slot still has a lot of goodwill left. Just a few days ago, the club's chairman Tom Werner gave him his support, so it doesn't seem like Slot is on the brink of being sacked. However, FSG has shown they can be ruthless when necessary.

It's been a decade since the club's owners had to make a decision about sacking a manager or head coach, with Brendan Rodgers being the last one to be let go back in 2015.

Rodgers, like Slot, had been backed in the transfer market - albeit to a much lesser extent of £80 million ($105M) - ahead of the 2015/16 season. But after a 1-1 draw with Everton left the Reds languishing in 10th place a couple of months into the campaign, patience had worn thin.

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According to the Liverpool Echo , just an hour after the final whistle, FSG president Mike Gordon rang Rodgers to break the news. The sacking stunned some observers - Thierry Henry's comforting hand on Jamie Carragher's knee became an iconic moment - but Liverpool's American owners had been laying the groundwork for weeks.

FSG had quietly been approaching a potential replacement over the previous fortnight, and mere days before Rodgers' departure was confirmed, Jurgen Klopp was sitting down with Liverpool's hierarchy.

"The first meeting was in New York, that's true," Klopp recalled of his initial contact with Liverpool and FSG.

"But the first phone call with Mike was before that, three days before I don't know. It was a nice day, I remember that. I think I was in bed still. I had nothing to do. I had time off.

"I knew that Mike, or someone, from FSG was going to call. I didn't know Mike at that point. But we had one hour on the phone.

"I obviously convinced him in a way that he wanted to meet in New York to bring the deal over the line. pretty much that's how it started."

Both parties successfully kept the rendezvous under wraps, Klopp claimed at the time he'd flown to America to watch basketball, and following discussions lasting six hours, the German's appointment as Rodgers' successor was all but sealed.

There's no evidence to suggest that any secret meetings with potential successors have been happening behind Slot's back, although FSG have proven they can keep such matters hush-hush.

With the club's chairman Werner present at the Forest defeat on Saturday, Slot won't be able to avoid the watchful eyes of Liverpool's top brass.

The Reds' boss needs to find a solution to their current woes, or else FSG might be compelled to make only their second dismissal in ten years.