Liverpool 5-2 West Ham United: Arne Slot's "least convincing" win will divide fanbase as Richard Hughes faces huge decision

Written by David Lynch, Liverpool expert:

There are some Liverpool supporters who, despite their team's recent upturn in form, remain unconvinced that Arne Slot has overseen any improvement.

The critics will rightly point out that the hosts were the least convincing a side has ever been in claiming a three-goal lead, with West Ham United having arguably been the more threatening from open play.

Then the two goals conceded to make things nervy from there proved that Liverpool remain remarkably easy to get at, even for the league's lesser teams.

The question the club's hierarchy must answer between now and the summer is quite how much these negatives - and indeed the positives - are down to Arne Slot.

That is particularly hard to unpick when it could so easily be argued that there isn't a team in the Premier League playing consistently good, consistently dominant football right now.

Perhaps the quality found lower down the division prevents that, while the degree to which set-pieces are influencing games also has a role.

Watching Liverpool continue to play well only in patches certainly won't help settle this quandary, and so you do not envy sporting director Richard Hughes for the decision he has to make on his head coach's future.

Liverpool 5-2 West Ham: Hugo Ekitike silenced "slow starts" claim in absence of Aaron Briggs

© Iconsport / PA Images

The job of everyone at Liverpool until that summer call comes around is to ensure Champions League qualification is secured through further wins - no matter how ugly they might be.

Some sections of the fanbase believe that several aspects of performance have underpinned the better outcomes earned by the Reds of late.

Well the good news from this 5-2 win over West Ham was that there was evidence to support that stance.

For example, criticism of Liverpool's slow starts to games was silenced when Hugo Ekitike netted the opener here with just five minutes on the clock.

That was the first of three set-piece goals scored on the day - an area that has come on markedly since dedicated coach Aaron Briggs was sacked at the turn over the year.