Arne Slot and the Liverpool players were said to have been taken aback by the club’s decision to part company with the head coach on Saturday.Just six days after the conclusion to a horrible season for the Reds, it was confirmed that the 47-year-old had been relieved of his duties at Anfield, almost two years to the day that he officially took over from Jurgen Klopp.DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL EMPIRE OF THE KOP APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAYMultiple trusted sources have claimed that the Dutchman only learned of his fate yesterday morning, having been planning ahead for the 2026/27 campaign as recently as Friday, with FSG appearing to perform a volte-face from their rumoured long-held stance that they’d continue to persevere with him.How did Slot and Liverpool players react to the news?Lewis Steele, Merseyside football reporter for the Daily Mail, published an article detailing Liverpool’s decision to part ways with Slot, and he revealed that Saturday’s news came as a bombshell to many of those internally.The journalist reported that the tactician was ‘surprised at the news’ after he was ‘given support in the last week’ but he is ‘not said to be licking his wounds’ and instead ‘leaves with pride at what he accomplished at the club’. The Reds’ players were also said to have been ‘shocked’ by the hierarchy’s decision to relieve the 47-year-old of his duties at Anfield.Want more Empire of the Kop coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustWhat might Slot’s sacking mean for players at Liverpool?Even though there had been abundant speculation over Slot’s future during the final few weeks of the season, paradoxically there’s still a sense that his departure has come out of the blue.All the indications from reliable sources were that FSG would give the Dutchman at least the start of next term to try and instigate an improvement at Liverpool, but evidently they felt that this is the right time to make a change in the dugout.The squad will now be eagerly awaiting news of a successor and how it might impact them individually and collectively. Will some players suddenly be deemed surplus to requirements? Will those who barely got a look-in (e.g. Harvey Elliott) now have a new lease of life at Anfield?By sacking Slot at the start of the summer, the LFC hierarchy have given themselves ample time to appoint a replacement before the transfer window opens, and well in time for the beginning of pre-season.Hopefully we’ll have clarity on that situation sooner rather than later and we can begin looking in earnest towards a new era at Anfield after the most difficult of seasons for the club.The post How Arne Slot and Liverpool players reacted to news of head coach’s sacking on Saturday appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.